


Finding a Rock in a Hard Place

by CatEyesCaro



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - High School, Bullying, Camille Belcourt Being An Asshole, Cancer diagnosis, Coming Out, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Hate Crime, Hospitals, M/M, Past Abuse, Past Violence, Supportive Relationships, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, mute character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-03-23 23:57:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 55,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13799061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatEyesCaro/pseuds/CatEyesCaro
Summary: Alec lost his ability to speak at a young age due to a rare laryngeal cancer and uses sign language to communicate.With the support and love of his siblings, he braves changing schools in his senior year of high school.What he doesn’t expect is to meet someone special that changes his life.





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 

Alec awoke by the buzzing sound of his alarm, even though the sun had yet to rise in the sky. He rolled over and squinted his eyes open seeing that it was only 5 A.M.

 

He knew he needed to get up soon so that he could take a shower, especially if he wanted to be on time for his first day at his new school.

 

Izzy and Jace would no doubt be waking up soon and fighting over the bathroom space. It still baffled Alec on how long it took his siblings to get ready for the day.

 

He could sort of understand Izzy taking such a long time, as her outfits were a bit, let’s say eccentric at times but Jace also seemed to take forever. A fact that Alec never forgets to tease him about.

 

Alec willed himself up and out of his warm bed, immediately feeling the effects of the cold room on his bare chest. He felt a shiver run through his body as he made his way into the bathroom at the end of the hall.

 

As the warm water fell down around him, he couldn’t help but let his mind wander on the day to come. To say that he was nervous was an understatement, he didn’t know what going to a new school would be like.

 

He had gone to St. Raziel’s school in New York City his whole life up until now. All the students had gotten used to having him there and mostly let him be.

 

Alec was also missing his other half more than anything. What would high school be like with Lydia? She was always there to comfort him when he was feeling down or lonely. He wasn’t sure if he could handle it all by himself.

 

He knew that he would always have his siblings and that they would always be there for one another. But it was different to Alec to have someone who he trusted outside of his family and leaving Lydia back in NYC was one of the hardest parts of the move for him.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

Jace decided to head downstairs to make breakfast for himself, as his sister had beat him to the bathroom and locked him out for what was probably at least an hour. Sure he could probably wake up his mom and ask to use the bathroom in her room but she deserved to sleep in a little longer.

 

He wasn’t at all surprised to see his father sipping his coffee at the table in his uniform all ready to head out to work. They had only been in Idris for a little more than a few weeks so far and already his dad was at the police station more than he was at home.

 

“Morning Jace, are you feeling ready for school today,” Robert said encouragingly. Jace knew that his parents still felt bad about the move but that they didn’t really have much choice in the matter. Jace knew that they wouldn’t have uprooted everyone, especially Alec and take him out of his comfort zone, unless they really had to.

 

“Uh, yea I feel pretty good about it, I mean its only one more year right and then I guess we can all decide where we want to end up in life,” Jace responded.

 

Jace was more concerned about how this day would go for Alec, the students at their old school already all knew about his situation and didn’t bother him. Jace planned to be on high alert today to make sure his brother was okay.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

_Good morning_ , Alec signed to greet his brother and father in the kitchen. He made his way to the coffee maker on the counter and poured himself a cup and took a seat next to his dad.

 

Robert turned and put his hand on Alec’s shoulder. “Hey, try and have fun today, okay? And don’t worry about it if people ask you questions, they are going to be curious about the new students, your brother and sister will be with you to help,” he said reassuringly.

 

Alec tried to put on a convincing smile. _Thanks, yea I know, it is going to be fine._ Robert said his goodbyes to his sons and left for the station house.

 

Although, Alec tried to convince his dad that he was going to be fine, he knew that today was probably just going to be awkward. Most people that don’t know him and see him using sign language with his siblings just automatically think he is deaf and don’t even try to meet him.

 

He knows he can’t blame people for assuming. Most people who use sign language aren’t able to hear along with speak but for Alec it was just the latter.

 

He was suddenly interrupted by his thoughts from his phone chirping. He smiled knowing that the only person to text him this early in the morning was Lydia.

 

**Lyds: Hey you, just wanted to say good luck today!**

**And don’t forget to smile, you can look a little brooding sometimes.**

**Alec: Great thanks, I’ll be sure to try and remember that when I am busy being worried about people thinking that I am some mute freak.**

**Lyds: Alec Lightwood! Never do I want to see you call yourself a freak again. I will NOT let anyone talk about my best friend like that, not even himself.**

**Now, do I need to drive out there to kick your ass?**

**Alec: No, no I’m sorry your right, I think I’m just nervous. Although, I do like the idea of you driving out here. I hate not seeing you in person these last few weeks.**

**Lyds: Oh come on, don’t sulk, it is not like we don’t usually text until our hands hurt anyway. I promise to come the first weekend I can get off of work!**

**Alec: Good, because I miss you so much. I had to watch the last Avenger’s movie with Jace last week and he was talking to the screen the whole time like it was a boxing match or something.**

**Lyds: OMG, I would have loved to see that. I miss you too, believe me Alec, you moving has been hard for both of us. But we will just have to make the best of it.**

**And you already promised you’d be moving back to NYC after you graduate so please, its less than one year!**

**Alec: That is the plan, well that is if I can convince my parents that I’m not going to shrivel up and die without them 5 minutes away from me at all times.**

**Lyds: You’re already an adult and you’ll be graduated, so I really don’t see how they can make you stay at home any longer than that! But just worry about today and we’ll deal with the rest later! Okay?**

**Alec: Sure, will do. I’m gonna get going, I’ll text you after school! Love you Lyds.**

**Lyds: Love you too! Good Luck!**

Alec instantly felt a little bit better about today. Lydia was right, his senior year was just beginning but it was really only less than a year and then he could be free to head back to the city to be with his best friend.

 

Alec and Lydia had met at a writer’s workshop when they were kids. They both loved to create stories and characters so when they were paired up together to write they became instant friends. She always knew what to say to make Alec feel better.

 

Alec looked up at Jace who was intensely trying to make a perfect omelet. He was so focused that his tongue had protruded out in concentration.

 

Alec snapped his fingers to get his brother’s attention. This was often what he would do if he wanted to communicate with someone who wasn’t look in his direction.

 

Jace’s head immediately snapped up. “What’s up buddy.”

 

 _Should I go make sure that Izzy is almost ready? We don’t want to be late_. Alec signed as he stood to walk back upstairs. Jace nodded in agreement.

 

Alec felt Jace race after him at the bottom of the stairs. “Oh, you should wake mom too, I know she worked late last night but she has to wake up Max and get him ready for school,” he called up to him.

 

Alec nodded back. His little brother was lucky, the elementary school started way later than the high school so he could sleep in.

 

Alec knocked loudly on the bathroom door. Izzy opened with her foot, she had her toothbrush still in her mouth and was blowing drying her hair with the other hand.

 

 _We need to leave in 20 minutes. Just wanted to give you enough warning_. Alec signed with a smile.

 

Izzy turned the blow dryer off and rinsed her mouth of toothpaste. “Thanks for the heads up big bro, and you look nice! I’m so glad you decided to wear what I picked out for you,” she said triumphantly.

 

Alec rolled his eyes but smiled. _I figured I could use all the help I can get, although these aren’t the most comfortable jeans in the world._ He pulled at the jeans with his fingers, to show her that they were pretty tight on him.

 

Izzy smiled, “Well they look hot so just deal with them!”

 

~~~~~~

 

Alec gently shook at his mother’s shoulder. He felt bad about waking her up so early but she had asked them to not let her oversleep today. She had been picking up a lot of extra shifts at work since moving.

 

She said that they had been lucky when they moved to Idris that her and Robert could continue to work together at their new station, especially because Idris was such a smaller town than New York. But they had gotten lucky and an operator had just retired from the station. So she didn’t feel like she couldn’t say no to overtime right now when they asked her.

 

Maryse was a 911 operator, and Robert was a cop. She would often be the one to dispatch him to different calls. When they first started working with each other, Robert said that she had the most beautiful voice he had ever heard and asked her out on a date. They got married young and had their first child when they were just 22 years old.

 

Maryse made a groaning sound as she could feel someone trying to wake her, she opened her eyes and smiled. “Hmmm, thank you, I could have slept all day. Is Max up yet?”

 

 _No, not yet, I figure let him sleep a bit longer. I can wake him up now though if you need my help?_ Alec replied.

 

“No, thank you, I’ll get him. Now you just focus on getting yourself to school, okay? How are you feeling sweetie, any issues?” Maryse asked warmly.

 

Alec hadn’t been sick for 5 years now but his mother still worried about him constantly. He knew it was out of love so he tried not to mind her hovering.

 

 _I’m fine mom… as usual_. He added.

 

“I know you are,” she replied while gently placing her hand on his cheek. “Try and meet someone today. Lydia doesn’t have to be your only friend Alec. There are people who will want to get to know you. Use your texting, you don’t need to have every conversation through Izzy or Jace.”

 

 _Okay, I promise, I’ll try_. He signed back. About a year ago, Lydia had introduced him to this cool texting app that could put together his common phrases quickly so that he could respond to someone faster than typing everything out like a regular text.

 

Although it was a really cool app, that really was very helpful, he couldn’t help but feel self-conscious when he uses it. He always gets this pitied look back when he shows someone his phone to communicate what he is trying to say. But he knows it’s better than the alternative of not being able to communicate with people using no way at all.

 

~~~~~~

 

 

Alec, Jace, and Izzy all headed out to Jace’s car together. The drive to school was short but still a new experience for the siblings. Growing up in NYC they never drove anywhere. Getting a car was one of the things that convinced Jace to move to Idris in the first place. He had always wanted a car of his own, he saved up for months and was finally able to buy an old car, a couple weeks ago right before they moved. It was old, but Jace had fixed it up so it was working great by the time they needed it to get to and from school.

 

Alec looked out from the passenger window. Idris was so different than the city, but he guessed a lot of suburban towns looked a lot like this. It was quaint looking, every house had a yard and the town center was smaller than even one neighborhood in all of New York.

 

But Alec was determined to not be upset about leaving New York all the time. He knew his parents had made the move because living in the city was becoming too expensive to handle.

 

Alec getting sick had put a huge financial strain on his parents, he always felt guilty for contributing to the long hours they had to work. And then around the same time, as he was in the hospital, Max had come along as a welcomed surprise to his parents so that also added another mouth to feed. 

 

And on top of it all, his parents had also decided to adopt another child that had been born into a bad situation. Alec’s parents were very selfless people, they would work themselves into the ground to provide for their family. So Alec owed it to them to give Idris a chance.

 

Alec hadn’t realized that they had already reached the school. He looked up to see both Izzy and Jace staring at him, clearly noticing he was lost in his own thoughts.

 

 _Sorry guys, I’m with you, let’s go_. Alec signed when he finally realized how concerned they looked. Alec took a deep breath in and moved to get out of the car.

 

“Hey… I need you to tell me if anything happens today Alec. I have no idea what our schedules will be like so you need to come to me if anything is wrong, okay? Jace said.

 

Alec nodded back. Jace had always been fiercely protective of his brother. Alec knew his brother loved him but sometimes his protectiveness was a bit much.

 

 Jace was pretty messed up when he had first come to live with the Lightwoods and Alec was the one to show him what it was like to be loved. They had become so close so fast that they had developed a sort of unbreakable loyalty to each other.

 

About a year after Jace had moved in with them was when Alec got sick. It nearly wrecked Jace to see his brother in the hospital and he often worried if he was going to lose him. Since then, Jace had been a little panicked about all things Alec.

 

Jace never backed down from protecting his family. He was even almost arrested once for beating up a kid who kept picking on Alec after things had gotten out of hand with the bullying.

 

The siblings looked up at their new school. It looked a lot different than the city school they were used to. It actually looked really nice, the building was huge and there was a big green quad out front where it looked like everyone hung out.

 

Izzy was the only one who looked generally excited and happy though. “Come on, let’s go. I want to scope things out before my first class!”

 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 

Magnus was putting the finishing touches on his outfit. He picked out his two favorite necklaces and decided to just wear them both on. The accessories helped but he couldn’t stop feeling like his outfit was still missing something. He smiled as he finally figured it out and finished his look by adding some dark sparkly navy eyeliner and slightly smudging it at the corners for effect.

 

He checked himself out in the full-length mirror and couldn’t help but be impressed. He had spent the summer at his sewing machine and had made some truly incredible pieces. For the first day of school, he chose his black shimmery skinny jeans that he got at a thrift store and a shirt that he had created all on his own.

 

The shirt was a button up, made of a structured maroon fabric. He rolled up the sleeves to show off his forearms and added a nice belt. Magnus had been so happy all summer, just hanging with his friend Raphael and making clothes. And he was hoping that the idiots at his high school wouldn’t try and screw up all the progress he had made.

 

“Magnus! You are going to be late, hurry up,” Catarina called from the kitchen. Magnus was so thankful that he had Cat and her husband Ragnor in his life to keep him on track. The three of them had been through so much together and had become the family that none of them thought they would ever have.

 

Magnus grabbed his bag and ran down the stairs. “You can’t rush perfection, my dear,” he said with a smirk while giving a turn to show off his outfit.

 

“Ahhh… you look incredible. Is that the shirt you made? You are a vision,” Catarina said approvingly.

 

Catarina pushed a plate towards Magnus at the table, it was filled with his favorite breakfast items. Magnus smiled when he saw all his favorite food in the morning.

 

“Cat, you are too good to me! Eggs and a waffle, it smells heavenly.” Magnus praised.

 

“You deserve it sweetie, Ragnor and I are so proud of you. We always knew you would make it to your senior year. Now I know you will one day dominate the fashion world, that I am sure of, but please, Magnus just make it through senior year without too much trouble,” Catarina pleaded.

 

Magnus giggled, “I will certainly try, I think I’ve had enough drama for one lifetime, thanks for always being there for me Cat.”

 

Magnus wished he could thank the both of them but unfortunately, Ragnor always left super early as he still commuted into the city each day for work.

 

The three of them had met when they were kids in foster care in New York City. They all had pasts that they would rather forget about and made unlikely friends right from the start when they found themselves in the same foster home.

 

Although Ragnor and Catarina were older than Magnus, they had stuck together from the start. So when Ragnor and Catarina had aged out of foster care them made it their mission to get Magnus back to them any way they could.

 

They ended up being able to adopt Magnus legally at the age of 21 when Magnus was 13. They quickly realized that they all needed a long break from the city so they moved to Idris to have a fresh start, but not realizing that no matter how far you are from something, sometimes your demons follow you.

 

It hasn’t been an easy road for any of them but Magnus was thankful every day for his family and the love that they all share.

 

“You know I love you, Magnus. Now go to school and make me proud,” Catarina responded.

 

Magnus gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and went to see if Raphael’s car was outside his house yet.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

Magnus smiled and laughed when he saw the frown on his best friend’s face sitting in the driver’s seat.

 

“Raph, come on, we aren’t even there yet and you’re already dying!” Magnus said.

 

“What, you’re trying to tell me that you are thrilled to be heading back to that place today.” Raphael defended.

 

Magnus was not particularly happy about having to return to school. He had tried to convince Ragnor a while back that he didn’t need a high school diploma to work in fashion but that idea was quickly shot down.

 

“Well no, obviously, but I promised Cat and Rag that I would try my best this year so let’s just go and get this over with,” Magnus replied. Raphael rolled his eyes but started driving towards the high school.

 

Raphael and Magnus had become fast friends when they met. Sure Raph wasn’t as crazy about fashion as Magnus he appreciated his sense of fashion when it came to suits. His friend wore suits pretty much every day which Magnus loved, so many people their age wear basketball shorts and t-shirts like they need to be ready to play a sport at all seconds of the day.

 

Magnus could feel his nerves building every inch closer he got to school. The last few years of his life hadn’t been the greatest and a lot of it had to do with people he was probably going to run into today. He could only hope that his radio silence over the summer break had been clear enough to them, that they would just ignore him.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

The three siblings had made it into the school and were heading towards the administrative offices. They needed to check in and get their class schedules.

 

Jace had noticed the many stares coming their way by the students in the hall. Some of the girls had even turned and giggled when he returned with a smile. He was glad to see that he would have plenty of girls to occupy himself with for his senior year.

 

He instantly felt bad though when he looked over at Alec who looked almost like he was in pain from having so much attention on him. He moved to return to his side and gave him an encouraging pat on the back. They had finally made it to the office and were instructed to wait for the principal. 

 

“Hello, I’m Mr. Garroway, it is nice to meet you all. Welcome to Idris High. I understand you are transfers from St. Raziel’s in the city, yes?” Luke asked.

 

Jace cleared his throat to speak. “Um yea, we just moved here.”

 

“I know, I actually already know a lot about you, my wife Jocelyn works with your dad as a cop at the station.”

 

“Well hopefully you only learned about the good stuff,” Izzy teased.

 

Luke turned and looked directly at Alec. “You must be Alec, it is nice to meet you. I’ve briefed your teachers about your situation so you shouldn’t run into any issues there. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to come to my office.”

 

_Thank you, I’ll be fine_. Alec signed back.

 

“He said thanks and that he’ll be fine,” Jace translated.

 

They were handed their schedules, and unfortunately, they didn’t have many classes together. Izzy was in the grade below Jace and Alec therefor separated from them. And Jace and Alec were separated because Alec had been put into the A.P. classes while Jace had not.

 

Jace had never been the greatest student. He excelled at almost any sport he tried but couldn’t find the concentration necessary to really kick ass in his classes. His grades got by but he was nothing like Alec.

 

Alec amazed him, he absorbed knowledge like a sponge. Alec had helped Jace with his math homework for as long as they’d known each other and it still amazed him at how easy it came to him.

 

Luckily all three had the same lunch period which Jace was very happy about. He didn’t want to be separated from Alec so much but tried not to worry about it too much.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

Alec’s heart was pounding so hard he was afraid that the other students around him could hear it too.

 

He entered the classroom and made his way towards the teacher’s desk, hoping that he would notice that he was trying to get the man’s attention.

 

“Ah, you must be Alec. I saw your transcript, you are an impressive student Alec, I hope my chemistry lab is up to your standards,” Mr. Starkweather said trying to break the ice.

 

Alec put on a smile and shook his head in agreement.

 

“The principal told me you would be bringing a whiteboard with you in case you want to participate in the conversation, feel free to contribute, god knows I could use all the help I can get,” his teacher said encouragingly. “Take a seat anywhere, you’re a bit early but the class will fill up shortly.”

 

Alec sat twirling his pen in his hand as the students filled in around him. His breathing hitched when he finally felt someone sit in the seat next to him.

 

“Hi, I’m Simon,” the boy said with a big goofy smile. Alec turned to look in the boy’s direction and couldn’t help but think he was probably a nerd. He wore thick glasses and had a Star Wars t-shirt on with a picture of Luke Skywalker on it.

 

Alec put on a smile and waved his hand. He was about to get out his texting app so he could introduce himself when the boy quickly started talking again. 

 

“You must be new here, because I’ve never seen you before, and you are so tall that I am sure I would have remembered you, unless maybe you had like some massive growth spurt over the summer and completely changed all your features. I think even then I would still recognize you though, so yea my guess is you must be new.” Simon rambled.

 

Wow, Alec couldn’t believe at the speed that Simon spoke at. But he seemed nice enough so he wasn’t going to complain.

 

Alec again tried to point Simon in the direction of his phone which had a message on it that explained that he didn’t speak but was interrupted once again.

 

“So your kind of like that quiet, brooding type, what do you think you are too good to speak to me, huh,” Simon interrupted. “Well that’s too bad because you’re stuck with me, my friend who graduated told me that Mr. Starkweather makes you lab partners with whoever you are sitting next to on the first day, so you better just get over yourself.”

 

Alec could tell the boy sitting next to him was getting the completely wrong idea of him and that he needed to try harder to get his attention.

 

So, Alec chose to wave the phone right in front of Simon’s face which finally seemed to interrupt his rant as he grabbed it out of his hands.

 

“Hey! What the…” Simon said while grabbing at the phone. Alec could see Simon’s eyes widen when he finally started reading the message.

 

**Hi, my name is Alec. I am unable to speak using my voice but can communicate with you through this texting application.**

Alec’s cheeks reddened ever so slightly. He hated the formal message that was computer generated by the stupid app to alert persons of his situation.

 

“Oh shit, oh my god, I’m so sorry Alec. I wouldn’t shut up so you didn’t even have a chance to show me this.” Simon said apologetically.

 

**Don’t worry about it. It is not like you meet a mute person every day. Nice to meet you, Simon. I’d be happy to be your lab partner this year, that is if you are any good of course.**

Simon smiled and laughed, “Oh yeah, you don’t have to worry about that. I won’t let you down in the chemistry department, that I can promise.”

 

“So Alec, do you like only text people then to communicate? That must get exhausting. I couldn’t even imagine that. Like what would it be like if I couldn’t speak at all?” Simon said.

 

Alec could tell that Simon probably suffered from word vomit and condition in which his mouth will just say anything that comes into that brain of his. Alec thinks he would rather stay mute than have to deal with having no filter. He bets that it has caused Simon to get his ass kicked once or twice in the past.

 

**Well, I don’t think you’ll ever have to find out so don’t worry too much about it. And I use sign language, my family all know it and my friends from back home know it too.**

“Oh right! That makes sense, of course you’d sign. That’s cool man. My friend Maia’s mom is deaf so she knows sign language. She even started a sign language club at the school when we were freshmen. She has got a lot of people involved too, my best friend Clary is in the club too.” Simon replied.

 

Alec was surprised to hear that they had a sign language club at the school. He was hopeful that he could meet some people that he’d be able to sign with. He found at his last school that people would often be nice and tolerate him texting them for a while but that they would get bored of it and start avoiding him. He was hoping that if he could sign with people he could make some more lasting friendships.

 

Alec saw that Simon was about to say something else but was interrupted by Mr. Starkweather starting class.

 

“Hello everyone, welcome back. I hope you all had a great summer. Before we get started I wanted to let you all know that we have a new student joining us this year and I want you all to help him feel welcomed. Now although he doesn’t speak like you or I do, you can still talk with him and I’m sure he’d be happy to show you how. So now let’s get started.”

 

Alec had his eyes down, as low as they could go. He was hoping that his teacher wouldn’t announce his presence to the class. He could feel the sets of eyes from his classmates on him as they tried to decipher the confusing information that his teacher had told them.

 

Alec finally looked up to try and concentrate on the lesson and was met by Simon’s kind eyes giving him an apologetic look. Alec could tell that Simon knew that he didn’t like being the center of attention.

 

The rest of the lesson went without a hitch. Alec even participated a few times using his whiteboard to answer questions. The bell rang before he knew it and he went to pack up his stuff.

 

“Dude, you’re like really smart, I didn’t even know the answer to one of those questions and I was like at the top of our class last year!” Simon praised.

 

Alec got out his phone to respond. **Thanks! Yea I really like science. I like math too, I don’t know why but it just makes sense to me. I like writing the best though, it’s what I want to do when I graduate.**

“No man, that’s cool! I just feel lucky that I get to work with you. So, Alec if you need somewhere to hang for lunch feel free to find me, okay? I’ll see ya around.” Simon said as he turned to walk to his next class.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

Alec was feeling a bit overwhelmed after his last two classes before lunch. Although chemistry had gone over great, his last two didn’t go as well.

 

In gym class, after he was introduced by the teacher, he was pretty much ignored by everyone and just got a few apologetic smiles from the students around him. They kept avoiding him on the basketball court as if he was a breakable item or something.

 

He was kind of getting annoyed because he had played basketball with Jace a bunch of times and was actually pretty good at it considered how tall he was.

 

But in his English class is where it really started to go wrong. The teacher was an older woman who was pretty mean looking named Mrs. Imogen. Alec remembered how she had chosen to introduce him to the class.

 

“Everyone, pay attention, this is Alec. He is a special boy and is mute therefore unable to speak. Alec you can go sit down now.”

 

Alec was mortified. She had treated him like an invalid. This was not how he wanted his English class to be. Alec loved English, he loved writing and now he would have to deal with this condescending ass for the whole year.

 

It only got worse when he overheard a really pretty Asian girl talking with the blonde boy next to her. “He is probably like one of those really smart autistic kids who doesn’t speak, I mean why else would he be in A.P. English. They hate being touched you know. Seb, I bet if you went over there and touched him, he would like freak out or something,” the girl said while laughing.

 

All Alec could do was try and sink into his seat further and count the minutes until it was over. He didn’t even try to participate in the class discussion, even though he knew the book they were discussing like the back of his hand.

 

Alec couldn’t wait to get to lunch to see his siblings.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

Alec entered the packed lunch room and quickly scanned the room in search of Jace or Izzy. He started to panic when he couldn’t seem to find them, he felt like an idiot standing in the middle of the room frantically looking around.

 

He started to panic even more, when he realized that his heart was racing faster and faster and that tears were beginning to build in his eyes. His anxiety had to pick now of all times to start up.

 

Just as he thought he was about to bolt from the room altogether, he heard the soothing voice of his brother.

 

“Hey buddy, we were looking for you,” Jace said from behind.

 

Alec turned and let out a deep breath that he didn’t even realize he had been holding, he was so relieved to see his brother staring back at him.

 

“Alec, what’s wrong? What happened? Hey, it’s going to be okay, come on, let’s find a table and go relax,” Jace said trying to soothe his brother’s anxiety down.

 

Alec had started to calm down the moment he had found Jace. Maybe his day hadn’t actually been as bad as he had thought and he was just slowly freaking out with no one to talk it out with.

 

Jace was quiet and sat attentively watching as Alec signed the story of how his day was going so far.

 

“That girl was an idiot Alec, don’t let her get to you. She was probably just looking for attention and decided to get it by being nasty. And, you are an amazing athlete buddy, they won’t be able to ignore you if you get in their faces, steal the ball next time and make a three-pointer, something that you’ve done to me plenty of times,” Jace responded.

 

_Yea, I guess you’re right. I kept waiting for someone to throw me the ball, I should have just fowled their asses_. Alec signed back with a smile. Jace was definitely turning his day around.

 

Izzy had joined them with a big smile on her face, she had clearly had a good day. “I think I’ve met my fashion soulmate you guys! He was in my elective fashion class and likes all the same designers as me!” Izzy shouted at them.

 

_That sounds great Iz, I’m happy for you. Now, what exactly does a fashion soulmate do?_ Alec teased.

 

“Well, I’m glad you asked. We will show each other our designers and ask for feedback, go on shopping sprees in the city together and maybe even start our own line one day. Now, can’t you just be happy for me? Besides, he is really hot Alec, I think you’d like him!” Izzy responded.

 

Alec’s eyes went wide. He had told his brother and sister about his sexuality a couple of years ago when he realized that he just didn’t like girls the same way Jace always talked about them.

 

Lydia had also tried to kiss him once when they were like 7 and Alec had completely freaked out and didn’t talk to her for like two weeks. They laugh about it now, saying that they should have known all those years ago.

 

But just because he was open with his siblings and his best friend didn’t mean he was planning on telling anyone at his new school. He didn’t want to give the students another reason to make fun of him.

 

_Can you keep your voice down please, someone is going to hear you Iz, I really don’t appreciate that_. Alec signed very slowly and with a scowl on his face to make sure his displeasure came across.

 

“Yea Iz, come on, Alec has it hard enough already, he doesn’t need you outing him to the whole school,” Jace said angrily.

 

“Okay, I’m sorry Alec your right, it’s not my place to say. I think I just got overly excited.” Izzy said apologetically. She reached over the table to give her brother a kiss on the cheek.

 

The conversation had turned pretty light when Alec suddenly heard his name called from across the lunch room.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

 

“Hey, hey Alec!” Simon called out.

 

Alec waved and gestured his hand for Simon to come over to the table. He had a petite, red-headed girl with him as well.

 

“Mind if we sit with you?” Simon asked.

 

Alec shook his head and smiled, and scooted his seat over to make more room at the table.

 

_This is Simon, we have chemistry together, he thought I was ignoring him as if I was some douchebag until I was able to explain to him about me, then he felt pretty stupid, seems like a nice guy, talks a lot_. Alec signed to his siblings.

 

“Whoa dude, signing is so cool, were you just talking about me?” Simon asked.

 

The girl next to him laughed and shook her head at him. “Yea, Simon, he was just explaining how you guys met and he said that you talk a lot,” Clary explained.

 

Alec looked up and smiled at the girl. He was shocked that she understood what he had said.

 

“Hi, I’m Clary, Simon’s better half,” she said with a smile. “I’m the vice president of the sign language club, so still a learner of ASL myself but I’m so excited I have more opportunity to use it know, it’s really nice to meet you Alec.”

 

_I was really excited when Simon told me you had a sign language club, that’s really cool. There was nothing like that at my old school_. Alec replied.

 

Alec looked over at his siblings who were contently watching the exchange. They always tried to let Alec steer the conversation if he was able to talk with someone freely, so often did Alec just smile in the corner and listen when he was around Jace and Izzy’s friends.

 

Alec tapped Jace’s shoulder and gestured towards his new friends. _Come on, don’t be shy, introduce yourselves._ Alec teased.

 

“It’s nice to meet you both, I’m Izzy and this is my brother Jace,” Izzy explained.

 

“Yea nice to meet you guys too,” Simon replied.

 

The conversation flowed pretty easily between the five of them. They quickly realized that they all wanted to move to the city when they graduated, for various reasons of course but they all had the same dream of conquering New York.

 

“Yea I want to sell my paintings in all the best galleries in New York, I mean they can get pretty funky sometimes so I don’t think I’ll be everyone’s cup of tea but hopefully someone will want to sell them!” Clary explained enthusiastically.

 

“Your stuff is great Clary, I have no doubt people will want to see your art,” Simon assured her.

 

“You’ll have to show me some of your stuff, maybe I can buy something for my NYC apartment that I dream of having, that is if I can afford your artwork that is,” Izzy said with a wink.

 

“For you, I’ll even paint you something for free! As a high-end, popular fashion designer, you’d be doing me a favor in displaying one of my pieces. Maybe all your fashion friends will see and I can become the artist guru of the fashion industry,” Clary replied.

 

Alec really liked the company of these two new friends. Well, he wasn’t sure if he could call them friends quite yet, but he sure hoped that they wanted to be. He liked that they seemed really authentic. They sort of reminded him of him and Lydia a bit.

_So Simon, what do you want to do when you graduate?_ Alec signed, knowing one of his siblings would translate for him. Jace quickly stepped in to speak without hesitation.

 

“You know it’s funny you ask because I have no clue!” Simon answered honestly. “I mean my mom wants me to go to architectural school, which don’t get me wrong, it does interest me, but what I really want to do is become the lead singer of a kick-ass band or like create the greatest series of a graphic novel out there.”

 

Alec smiled, those things were all nothing alike. He was surprised at the singer one, he didn’t expect Simon to be able to sing well.

 

“Wow, that’s quite a list of aspirations. Are you in a band now?” Izzy replied.

 

“Well thanks, I…uh… I try,” Simon replied. Alec couldn’t help but notice that Simon got a little flustered every time Izzy spoke.

 

Simon was about to say something else, but the conversation was interrupted by Izzy standing up and letting out a high-pitched scream.

 

“Hey! Magnus, come hang with us,” Izzy shouted while jumping up and down.

 

Alec turned to see who Izzy was freaking out about. And his eyes were met by the most beautiful person he had ever seen in his life.

 

He looked to be around the same age as Alec, he had these gorgeous mesmerizing eyes that Alec thought he could just stare into forever. And his skin was a perfect caramel blend, so much better than Alec’s pasty white complexion. His outfit was flashy and he wore a lot of jewelry that just added to his sexiness.

 

Alec’s body had begun to respond, his heart was pounding in his chest and his skin felt so hot that he wanted to peel his shirt off. Alec couldn’t believe this person had affected him so much. He had of course thought people were hot before, but he had never seen someone as beautiful as the one walking towards them now. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 

Magnus had been pleasantly surprised by how his day was going so. He hadn’t run into anyone from his old life yet and he had met someone that he became instant friends with. He had met her in fashion class, she seemed fun and feisty and was just as crazy about fashion as he was.

 

Magnus was originally pretty nervous about his lunch period when he and Raph realized that they didn’t have the same one. A big smiled appear on his face when he looked across the room and saw his new friend Isabelle jumping up and down and waving him over.

 

He gave her a quick embrace and kiss on the cheek. “You didn’t tell me that we had the same lunch period, my dear!” Magnus said with a smirk.

 

“I didn’t know! But I’m so happy, I was literally just talking about.” Izzy replied.

 

“All good things, I hope,” Magnus muttered. He looked down at the table of faces before him. The boy in the corner immediately caught his attention, he had beautiful hazel eyes and was just the right amount of tall, dark and handsome.

 

“Who are you?” Magnus said without even realizing he had said it. The boy looked up at him in surprise but looked over at Isabelle as if he was looking for her help.

 

“Oh, these are my siblings. This is Alec and Jace, and do you know Simon and Clary from around?” Izzy replied as she pointed out the group.

 

The blonde one gave a sharp nod and muttered something along the lines of “sup” in Magnus’s direction. But he could care less about that because all he wanted at this moment was to get better acquainted with the beautiful boy sitting across from him.

 

Magnus was a little disappointed that all he got in return from the boy was a small smile and wave. “So, Alec was it? Is that short for something?”

 

But Simon chose to interrupt them instead. “So Magnus, I’m surprised you are sitting with us lower life forms, are you and Camille like playing a prank on us or something?” Simon said.

 

By the looks of both Simon and Clary, it was not a welcomed reunion between the old friends.

 

Magnus knew he had hurt his two old friends. They were very close as kids and when Magnus got to high school and met Camille and her silly little entourage, things got out of hand and before Magnus knew it, he never hung out with Simon or Clary again.

 

“Yea really, you ‘re suddenly totally into branching out and meeting new people? Why don’t you just crawl back to Camille.” Clary interjected.

 

This was not the first impression he wanted to have on Isabelle or her brother for that matter. But Magnus knew he deserved the cold demeanor they were all giving him.

 

“Look, I don’t really want to get into it right now, I know I owe you guys like a massive apology, but please, it’s the first day of school, can’t we just like live in peace. I’m trying really hard this year to be different. And I haven’t spoken to Camille in months.” Magnus defended, hoping they would take pity on him.

 

“Yea, I’ll believe that when I see it, I didn’t think you could even eat or drink without her permission,” Clary said in a nasty tone.

 

Magnus’s eyes narrowed, “Wow, that was pretty nasty biscuit, I guess you did some growing up since I last saw you,” he was determined to not let her comments get to him. She was hurt and probably needed to release some of the anger inside.

 

“Shit Magnus, your right, I can’t believe I just said that… sorry… she just makes me so angry,” Clary apologized.

 

“Believe me darling, I feel the same way,” Magnus replied.

 

Magnus let out a big breath, he could see Clary’s eyes soften a bit and her lips curl up at the sides.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

Alec hadn’t been able to form a coherent thought since Magnus had sat down at the table. There was just such a presence about his sister’s new friend that he could help but just stare at him.

 

He watched the exchange between them and It was clearly a complicated history. But Alec couldn’t help but feel a bit bad for him, they were being pretty standoffish and didn’t seem to want to give the benefit of the doubt at all.

 

Alec was relieved when the conversation turned lighter. For some unknown reason, he didn’t like Magnus to take on so much heat. It was almost as if he wanted to reach out and comfort him.

 

His sister started talking about fashion of course, something Alec never knew how to contribute to, but when Magnus was talking about it just sounded so much more interesting. His voice was so perfectly crafted, Alec could tell he spoke passionately, he felt like he could listen to him forever.

 

“How about you? I love the jeans you are wearing.” Alec was startled from his thoughts when he realized that Magnus was talking to him.

 

He paused for a second, he wasn’t sure if he should use his texting app or just sign and have his siblings translate as usual.

 

_Izzy picked out the outfit so I can’t take much credit. But thanks_. Alec signed. He watched as Magnus’s eyes went a little wide, clearly surprised at the use of sign language, but he gave Alec a big smile.

 

“He said that I….” Izzy started to say.

 

“Don’t worry Isabelle, I know what he said. Well Alec, your sister has excellent taste in clothes, she did you proud for the first day.” Magnus replied.

 

Alec couldn’t believe it. _Wait you know how to sign too?_ He asked.

 

“Yes actually, I was good friends with a girl I used to live with in foster care who was deaf, I think I was so young when I first met her that I picked it up rather quickly,” Magnus replied, he was signing his answer as well.

 

_Oh, thank you for signing back but you don’t have to. I can still hear you, I just can’t speak_. Alec tried to clear up.

 

“Well that’s a shame, I mean the signing part, not the you can hear part of course. It is such a beautiful language, I miss not being able to use it, my friend was adopted and moved to Florida years ago now,” Magnus stated.

 

“Oh my god, Alec. This is amazing. Only our first day here and already you have three new friends, two whom can understand you and one who talks so much himself that you don’t even need to say anything back,” Izzy teased.

 

“Hey, I don’t talk that much!” Simon defended himself with a smile.

 

Alec's cheeks reddened. He couldn’t believe his sister had just said that. Did she realize how pathetic that made him sound?

 

“Jeez, quit embarrassing him Iz,” Jace said in his defense.

 

“What, I’m just saying, it must be nice to have someone to talk to besides Lydia all the time.” Izzy defended.

 

Great, now his sister was telling everyone the fact that he had exactly one friend and one friend only. This just keeps getting better.

 

“Now, who is this Lydia person?” Magnus interjected.

 

_She’s my best friend, she’s back in the city though_. Alec replied

 

Alec thought Magnus looked slightly relieved when he had explained who she was but he wasn’t too sure he could tell.

 

“Well, you shouldn’t feel bad, Raphael is my only close friend. Well, the only one I haven’t driven away of course,” Magnus said while gesturing towards Clary and Simon.

 

Alec watched as they both gave him a small smile in return.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

Magnus was dancing a jig inside when he learned that Lydia was just a friend. Isabelle and he had talked a lot in fashion class and he learned quickly that she didn’t have the best filter.

 

She had mentioned something about her brother that may have suggested that Alec was not straight, but he couldn’t be completely sure. He didn’t think she did it on purpose at all. If anything, the conversation flowed so easily between them that he thinks she just let it slip without even realizing it.

 

He wanted so badly to get to know Alec more but his short-lived bliss was rudely interrupted by somebody he had been dreading to run into this whole day.

 

“Mags, I see you are taking this avoidance thing to the next level. How long are you going to stay mad at me?” Camille said.

 

Magnus looked up at his ex, she looked just as spiteful as the last time he saw her. They had such a tumultuous relationship, and she knew just what to do to bring out the worst in him. He was lucky that Raph, Cat, and Rag were able to finally get through to him and see that she was poison and nothing more.

 

“Camille, I thought I made it perfectly clear that I never wanted to see you again. I’m not even mad at you, I simply just don’t want to be acquainted with you anymore,” Magnus replied.

 

Magnus gave his table an apologetic look, he was hoping to avoid Camille at all cost, especially in front of what he hopes are his new friends.

 

Magnus’s eyes landed on Alec. He had sort of hunched over a bit, his eyes were staring down at the table and he was rubbing at his shoulder nervously. Magnus’s anger boiled, he knew Alec had probably already had an unfortunate run-in with Camille.

 

“Yea right, you’ll get over yourself soon Magnus. I don’t know what is going on with this new and improved, and sober shit, but I bet you’ll be crawling back to me in no time,” Camille shouted.

 

Camille’s eyes turned towards her next victim at the table. “Oh and look it’s you, you’re that autistic kid that is in my English class right, the one that can’t talk. Do you like spaz out and stuff too like a retard?” Camille laughed.

 

“Alright, that’s it. Now you need to back off, why don’t you go back to wherever you came from,” Jace shouted as he stood up to put himself in between her and Alec.

 

Magnus was surprised at blondie’s outburst, he hadn’t really said much this whole hour and now he looked like he was about to strangle Camille. Magnus was glad to see Alec stand up to go calm him down.

 

_Hey, relax, it’s okay, she isn’t worth it Jace. She is the one I told you about earlier, looks to me like she is a complete bitch and I don’t think us trying to stand up to her today is going to change that_. Alec signed calmly.

 

Magnus smiled, Alec had just been blatantly insulted and here he was more worried about comforting his brother than at what she had said.

 

Magnus watched as Camille’s eyes widened, an evil smile that appeared when she saw Alec using sign language. Magnus knew that nothing good was to come of this. He decided that he had enough of her assault.

 

“Hey guys, why don’t we cool off a bit. We can sit out in the sun on the quad before next period?” Magnus suggested.

 

Everyone quickly rose from the table with any hesitation. Magnus smiled noticing that everyone was just as relieved to get away from Camille as he was.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

The warmness of the sun felt nice on his face. He closed his eyes and tried to steady his heartbeat that had been slowly rising. Of course, the things that Camille had said hurt him, but he also realized that she was just a nasty person and that he probably wasn’t going to change her.

 

Magnus had left such an interesting impression on Alec, he found anything he said to be completely captivating.

 

Alec was surprised to hear that, that Camille was his ex. The two seemed nothing alike. How had Magnus, someone with such a kind and vibrant personality, date someone so horrendous? He also remembered that Camille mentioned something about sobriety in one her rants. Maybe Magnus had gotten in over his head and was trying to make things right this year. Alec was determined to give him the benefit of the doubt.

 

Alec noticed that Magnus had propped himself up on a ledge away from the rest of the group. Alec made his way over, hoping Magnus wouldn’t mind a little company.

 

_Are you okay? She is pretty awful_. Alec signed with an encouragingly smile.

 

“You’re asking me if I’m okay? After what she said to you. Alec, I’m so sorry that she said that to you, that was awful,” Magnus replied.

 

Alec’s heart skipped a beat. Magnus had reached out and put his hand on Alec’s forearm. As soon as they touched, it shot a warm comforting feeling right through his body. And they both seemed to notice it, as Magnus had slightly gasped and opened his mouth a bit.

 

_I’m okay, I try really hard to have thick skin and when I can’t seem to brush it off, I have my siblings to get me through if I’m in a hard place_. Alec replied.

 

“Well, consider me another rock, I’m here if you ever need anything,” Magnus said with a nod.

 

Alec was mesmerized when Magnus talked. He would move his hands in a strange but enticing way that almost looked as if he was doing magic.

 

_Thanks, I’d like that._ Alec signed. He noticed Magnus looking down nervously.

 

“I’d love to get your phone number, you know in case you need me outside of school,” Magnus said.

 

Alec tried not to look too excited as he handed his phone over to Magnus to put his number in.

 

Alec looked over at his brother and noticed that he was shooting a glare at Magnus. What was his problem? He is the one always telling him to be more social and make more friends.

 

Alec saw a girl approaching the group from across the quad. “Hey, I’m Kaelie, you guys must be new here. I’m having a party on Friday at my house if you want to come, my parents are out of town.”

 

Izzy looked thrilled. “Of course, we’d love to come!”

 

“Awesome see you all there,” she replied and walked back into the school.

 

“Yes, okay I like this town. The first day of school and we already have weekend plans. Clary, are you gonna go?” Izzy asked.

 

“I’ll go if you go! And Simon will go if I go, so yea we’re in!” Clary said.

 

Magnus, you in?” Izzy asked.

 

“You guys have fun. I’m trying to avoid parties at the moment. Just be careful at Kaelie’s she can be a bit wild at times.” Magnus responded.

 

Izzy looked over at her brothers. “Ah, I’m so excited, this going to be fun.”

 

Alec shrugged his shoulders. He knew he would never be able to go because his mom would never allow it. She didn’t like Alec doing things that were too uncontrolled, she didn’t want him to feel helpless if he couldn’t communicate with anyone, so instead, she chose to keep him home.

 

Alec always thought it was a bit unfair though because she would let Izzy and Jace go and he would have to stay home. And his parents would usually be working so that left him home to babysit Max.

 

“Iz what is wrong with you today, God can you stop rubbing it in his face, you know he won’t be able to go,” Jace said sternly.

 

“We can sneak him out somehow, or just convince them that they need to loosen up a bit,” Izzy said.

 

Alec was starting to feel embarrassed. He didn’t like being treated like some young kid when he was actually older than the both of them.

 

_It doesn’t matter anyway so just drop it, you know I’ll have to probably watch Max_. Alec signed.

 

The bell had finally rung. Alec’s head was spinning, he couldn’t believe everything that had happened in one single lunch period. He was ready for this day to be over so that he could go home and text with Lydia.

 

The group all moved their separate ways towards their afternoon class. But before Alec could walk away he felt a hand grab his wrist.

 

“Hey, those parties are overrated anyway. And believe me, I’ve been to a lot of them. Maybe if you’re not doing anything that night we could hang out?” Magnus said while giving a wink and turning down the hall.  

 

All Alec could muster was a small nod. Hanging out with Magnus sounded like a way better idea than some stupid party where he’d probably just be ignored in the corner all night. Alec tried to focus on his classes but just couldn’t seem to get Magnus out of his head for the rest of the day.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 

The first week of school had gone by pretty well, Alec was actually starting to think that he was going to like Idris. He and his siblings had sat with Magnus, Clary, and Simon every day for lunch this week.

 

And each day, Alec learned more and more about Magnus. He had learned that Magnus did not have an easy past. He never talked about it in detail but he knew that he had been in foster care for a while and then had a lot of issues even after he starting living with his guardians.

 

But Alec also learned that Magnus was a very strong person, he overcame a lot in his life and accepts the poor choices he has made. But he is also determined to work towards being better, and Alec admired that a lot.

 

Alec was trying to finish an English assignment he had due tomorrow when he felt a small tug on his leg. Alec swears that sometimes his littlest brother was quieter than he was.

 

_Hey Maxie, how was school today? Tell me everything_. Alec signed out slowly to ensure that his brother would understand.

 

Max was only 6 years old, but he was doing incredibly well with picking up sign language. Alec could still remember the first time he realized Max could understand him and the enjoy it brought him.

 

Max had injured his wrist when he fell on the pavement a couple years ago. Alec had stayed with him the whole time in the emergency room and made sure it was elevated up on pillows for the swelling and that he had ice on it to keep it numb from the pain.

 

It was so badly injured that he needed to get surgery to have a pin placed so that there wouldn’t be any issues while he was growing. As they were about to wheel him into the operating room, Alec signed, _I love you Max_ and his brother gave him a smile back and shouted, “Love you too Allie.” Back then he had trouble saying Alec’s name.

 

His brother came and sat on the bed next to him. “School was so fun, I played kickball at recess and then looked at this really cool comic book during reading time,” Max said enthusiastically.

 

_That sounds fun, but did you learn anything?_ Alec replied. He knew that it was only first grade but he still thought his brother should have a little more to say than kickball at recess and reading comic books.

 

“Well duh, of course I did, that just wasn’t the good stuff. I didn’t want to bore you with the actual school stuff,” Max teased.

 

Alec rolled his eyes at his brother and smiled. Max loved when Alec would pick him up and flipped him over really fast so he was landing on the ground again, it always made him laugh hysterically.

 

As Alec was about to pick him up, they both stopped playing around when they heard the shouts coming from downstairs in the kitchen.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

As soon as Jace walked through the door after lacrosse practice he was met by a loud argument between Izzy and his mother. He tried to avoid them but was so thirsty, that he really needed to get into the fridge.

 

“We were all invited to the party, it isn’t fair that Jace and I can go tomorrow but you are making Alec stay behind. I thought things would change once we moved and that you’d let up a bit. He’s 18, I can’t believe you won’t let him go to one party. If you keep treating him differently then he will keep thinking he is different than everybody else!” Izzy shouted.

 

This was an argument that Jace had heard a million times from the two of them. And honestly, Jace was never sure who was in the right. Sure he wanted Alec to have fun and stuff but he also didn’t want him to get in trouble or to be stuck in a situation where he felt uncomfortable.

 

“Guys come on, stop fighting about this again. Here’s an idea, has anybody asked Alec what he thinks?” Jace interjected.

 

Jace looked up at the stairs when he heard someone coming down. Alec had clearly heard the same fighting that he did.

 

_You know I don’t like it when you guys fight. Can’t you two just drop it_. Alec signed sternly at the two of them.

 

Their mother sighed and walked over to stand in front of Alec. “Listen Alec, I’m sorry if you think I’m unfair but you have to realize that you can’t just waltz into an unknown situation, especially a party. What if something goes wrong, you get hurt or sick and wouldn’t be able to communicate with anyone to tell them,” Maryse tried to explain. 

 

Jace knew she had a point, when they would go out Jace was at Alec’s side most of the time, but with all the people at a party, it would be hard for him to keep a close eye on his brother.

 

“Alec, it’s just a stupid party. I promise you won’t be missing out on much,” Jace said to try and diffuse the situation.

 

“It doesn’t matter anyway. I am working late tomorrow and Robert is also on an evening shift so I’ll need Alec to stay with Max tomorrow so there really is no point in arguing about this anymore,” Maryse informed them and walked out of the kitchen.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

Alec couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed at Jace, he didn’t understand how he could think that their mother was right about needing him to stay home. Alec so badly wanted to shout at her that she can’t control everything.

 

“Don’t be mad, come on,” Jace said to him. Alec gave him a small glare, shook his head and just walked back to his room.

 

The funny thing was that Alec didn’t even want to go to the party. Magnus had again asked if he wanted to hang out on Friday and he was sure that he would rather do that.

 

But just as in general, one day he just wanted to be able to have the choice to go to the party if he wanted to. He could hear his father’s voice in his head repeating, “It’s our house, it’s our rules kids.”

 

Alec heard a knock on his bedroom door and knew it was his brother. Jace could never live with Alec being upset with him. “Can I come in Alec, we need to talk about this,” Jace pleaded.

 

Alec let his brother stew outside the door for a minute before opening it and gesturing for him to sit on the bed.

 

_Before you start, I don’t even want to go the party tomorrow so this really doesn’t even matter. But Jace, shouldn’t I be allowed to go if I wanted?_ Alec signed in his own defense.

 

Alec watched as Jace’s expression softened to a one of guilt. “Your right man, of course you should have the choice, I think I just get so caught up in protecting you sometimes that I forget that my job as a brother is to encourage you to live, not to hide from the world because it’s safer,” Jace muttered apologetically.

 

_Hey, I know you are on my side. You always are and always will be, you were the one that literally slept on the floor of my hospital room for 8 weeks straight while I had chemo_. Alec replied.

 

In Alec’s mind, Jace was as loyal as they come. The two had become so close when Jace arrived at the Lightwoods. Alec could still remember the moment their lasting brotherhood clicked.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

When Alec was 10, his mom told him and his sister that they were getting another sibling. She told them that an old friend of hers named Celine had died a while back and that her son was being raised by a very unfit father. A father that had treated his son very poorly.

 

Back then, they lived in a fairly small apartment in the city, so when Jace came to live with them, the two boys had to share a bedroom.

 

That first night, Alec sat up in bed when he heard Jace whimpering and thrashing around on the bed next to him.

 

“No, no, please don’t… stop,” Jace was muttering in his sleep.

 

Alec had quickly jumped up and moved over towards his new brother. “Hey, hey Jace, wake up, you’re just having a bad dream,” Alec said while shaking him awake.

 

“What…ahh… oh man, I’m sorry, did I wake you up?” Jace said dropping his head in embarrassment.

 

“Don’t worry about it, are you okay? Want me to stay up with you for a while,” Alec asked.

 

“Yea thanks, if you don’t mind. I don’t think I want to go back to bed just yet,” Jace replied.

 

Alec and Jace had spent many nights like this together when they were kids, they would talk about anything that came into their minds to help Jace forget about the awful nightmare he had just had.

 

About a year after Jace moved in was when Alec got sick. The two brothers had grown so close in that last year that it was devastating to them when Alec had to get surgery to remove a tumor that would also wreck his vocal cords in the process.

 

Once the surgery was over and Alec had lost his ability to speak he also needed to complete 8 weeks of chemotherapy as well. Jace had spent every moment with him, they made it their mission to conquer sign language so that they could one day talk for hours with each other again.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

Alec was interrupted from his thoughts when his phone chirped.

 

**Magnus: Hello Alexander! And yes your sister did let it slip about your full name and I absolutely love it! I hope you don’t mind.**

Alec smiled, he usually hated when people used his full name but he felt a shiver run through his body when he thought about Magnus using it, so maybe his opinion had been changed.

 

            **Alec: I think I could get used to it.**

“Who the hell is that Alec?” Jace asked gesturing towards his phone. “You look like your head is going to explode with happiness.”

 

_Yea right, very funny. It’s just Magnus saying hi_. Alec signed while trying to look cool about it to not give away his true feelings.

 

Jace gave him a concerned look. “Listen Alec, I see the way he looks at you and it’s like really intense. I don’t know what you’ve heard, but Clary has told me some pretty fucked up shit about him. I don’t think he is a good person to hang out with,” Jace said.

 

_We’ve been here a week. You shouldn’t judge people so quickly Jace. He has been nothing but nice to me. Besides he is coming over tomorrow to watch a movie while I’m watching Max_. Alec replied in Magnus’s defense.

 

“What do you mean he is coming here. Just the two of you? Alec don't be naïve, the dude is trying to get into your pants. Clary told me that he and Camille were in some crazy open relationship in which he ended up screwing most of the school!” Jace shouted.

 

_That could just be a rumor!_ Alec signed frantically. He didn’t know why he was so adamant about defending Magnus to people but he was.

 

_Jace, we literally just had a whole conversation about you letting me live my life and make my own choices. Can’t you just support me?_ Alec asked.

 

Jace shook his head in defeat. “Fine your right, I’m sorry, just be careful Alec, I just don’t want him to take advantage of you.” He gave his brother a big hug and left him be.

 

Alec’s phone chirped again.

 

**Magnus: What time should I come by tomorrow? I’m bringing us my favorite ice cream flavor!**

**Alec: That sounds great. Can you come at 8 or 8:30, I’ll have to put my brother to sleep around 9 and then we can start the movie after that?**

**Magnus: Fabulous, excited to meet the last Lightwood sibling as well.**

Alec and Magnus had texted each other for hours that night until they both fell asleep from exhaustion.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

Magnus was finding it really hard to concentrate on anything at school that day. He had made plans with Alexander that night to hang out and watch a movie.

 

“Quit fidgeting! What is up with you?” Raph scolded him.

 

“I just want this day to be over already. It was so much easier not giving a shit and skipping when I didn’t feel like being here. But I promised Cat that I would try my hardest to be here,” Magnus replied.

 

“Well I think she’d want you to learn something too, you haven’t written a single thing down,” Raphael called him out.

 

Magnus knew his friend was right. But he couldn’t help but let his mind drift off towards Alexander. He knew this wasn’t exactly a date but maybe he could call it a pre-date and if things go well, he would try and work up the courage to ask for a real one.

 

“I’m hanging out with Alec Lightwood tonight, I think just as friends but it’s all I can think about,” Magnus explained to Raph.

 

“You sure you want to pursue someone right now Magnus, I mean things are finally going better for you. I just don’t want to see you get hurt,” Raphael asked.

 

Magnus knew Raph was just being protective. He had tried so many times to warn Magnus about the dangers of Camille but he was never able to get through until it was too late.

 

“He is different Raph, and I’m not talking about the fact that he doesn’t speak. It is the fact that he is so genuine and caring. He loves his siblings with all that he has. He is smart and funny, and I just, I don’t know, there is just such a connection,” Magnus explained.

 

“Wow, I’ve never heard you talk about someone like that. Well just be careful and I want to meet him if things get serious between you,” Raph asked.

 

“As much as I’d like things to be serious with him, I really don’t know how he feels about all this. It could just be a completely one-sided crush on my part. So I’ll take things slow and just let him set the pace,” Magnus clarified.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

When Alec got home from school he immediately started rushing around the house to clean up. He needed to keep his mind and hands busy because his nerves were really starting to brew. But when the cleaning stopped being effective in clearing his mind, he knew he needed his best friend so he grabbed his phone.

 

**Alec: I’m freaking out Lyds, Magnus is coming over tonight. What if I am just totally awkward and screw it all up and he doesn’t want to hang out with me ever again!**

**Lyds: Whoa, you need to chill. Remember that HE asked you to hang out, and you told me that he reaches out and texts you almost every night. I definitely think he likes you. You just need to see tonight if that’s as a friend or more :)**

**Alec: What if he does want more? I’m such a freak, I haven’t even had my first kiss, I can’t even think about what it is like to be in a relationship.**

**Lyds: He might not either Alec, he had a shitty first relationship. That girl sounds awful, I bet he is in the same boat as you when it comes to a REAL relationship.**

**Lyds: And I thought I made it clear on how I feel about the word “freak”. One more time and I am really am going to kick your ass!**

**Alec: Maybe your right. He is so effortless to talk to at school, hopefully the same is to be said when we are one on one.**

**Lyds: I’m sure it will be! Now go blow off some steam in the shower if you know what I mean ;)**

Even though Alec was sitting on the couch all by himself, he still blushed at what Lydia had last texted him. He was embarrassed to say that Magnus had been a frequent source of inspiration when Alec did that with himself.

 

Luckily, Alec didn’t have to worry about his nerves for too long because Max got home from school and kept him plenty busy.

 

_Max, I’m having a friend over later. You can hang with us for a while but then you’ll need to be good and go right to bed. Can you do that for me buddy?_ Alec asked

 

“Yay, is Lydia coming? She’s the only one you’ve ever had over when we lived in the city,” Max asked.

 

_No, not Lydia, not this time. I think you’ll like him though._ Alec replied

 

Izzy took pity on Alec before she left to head to Clary’s to get ready for the party and picked him out an outfit.

 

_Nothing too flashy Iz, I want to look casual_. Alec asked her.

 

“I know just the thing, wear the gray sweater and just make sure to roll up the sleeves a bit to show some skin,” Izzy said with a smile.

 

Alec blushed. _Alright, Thank you. Have fun tonight and be safe, text if you need anything._

Alec and Max were busy playing a card game at the kitchen table when his phone final chirped.

 

            **Magnus: I think I’m here darling!**

_Max, I’ll be right back_. Alec signed with a big smile.

 

Alec walked over to the door and opened it.

 

_Hi, come on in, you…you look really nice_. Alec signed to Magnus standing in the hall after gesturing him to come in.

 

“Why thank you, you look incredible as well. So is Max still up, I’d love to meet him! Oh and here, as promised one carton of mint chocolate chip ice cream,” Magnus said.

 

_Yea, he is in the kitchen, he’s excited to meet you too. I think he is bored with me, we’ve been playing cards for a while now._ Alec signed.

 

Magnus walked ahead of him into the kitchen. “You must be Max, I’m Magnus. Mind if I join your game?”

 

Alec watched as Magnus introduced himself to his little brother. He smiled at how sweet he was with him. He could tell Max was also taking a liking to Magnus as well.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 

“Maxnus, can I have more ice cream?” Max pleaded with a big smile.

 

Alec snapped his fingers so his brother would look over at him. _Max, its M-A-G-N-U-S, you keep saying it incorrectly_. Alec signed slowly trying to teach his brother how to properly say Magnus’s name.

 

“It’s quite alright Alexander, I think I rather like the nickname. More ice cream coming your way kid. That is, if it’s okay with your brother?” Magnus said looking towards Alec for permission.

 

_One more scoop before bed, I don’t want you to get a stomach ache_ , Alec replied.

 

The boys all finished their ice cream, Alec didn’t know how, but they had gone through almost half the tub because they had gotten so lost in conversation.

 

Before Alec couldn’t even do it himself, Magnus was at the sink washing out the bowls and drying them.

 

_Oh, you don’t need to do that_. Alec signed as he tried to grab the bowl from Magnus’s hands.

 

“It’s not a problem darling, why don’t you help me dry and I have no clue where to put them back either,” Magnus replied as he gently pushed Alec’s hand away.

 

Alec felt that same amazing feeling again when their hands touched and it made him want to touch Magnus even more. They both paused for a moment as their fingers slightly brushed up against each others. Alec didn’t realize that his face was getting all red.

 

“Are you alright, Alexander?” Magnus asked.

_I’m fine, sorry, totally fine. I’m going to head upstairs with Max and help him get ready for bed. I’ll be back as quick as I can_. Alec replied, he needed a minute to un-fluster himself anyway.

 

“Take your time, mind if I start looking for a good movie?” Magnus asked pointing to the TV in the living room.

 

_No, of course not, that’d be great. I’m bad at choosing anyway_ , Alec signed.

 

Magnus crouched down in front of the youngest Lightwood, “Good night Max, I had so much fun with you tonight. Sweet dreams.”

 

“Good night Maxnus!” Max replied giving Magnus a big hug in the process.

 

Alec picked up his brother who was already yawning since it was past his usual bedtime. _Make yourself comfortable, come up if you need anything_ , Alec signed to Magnus awkwardly as he was holding his brother.

 

Magnus smiled, “I will, and take your time, I’ll be fine on my own.”

 

 

~~~~~~

 

Magnus was flipping through the On Demand section on the TV, but he had realized a couple pages in that the movie choices weren’t even really registering because all he could think of was how great tonight was going.

 

Alec was so adorably loving and patient with his little brother, that it melted Magnus’s heart. The three had talked in the kitchen for over an hour and there wasn’t even one moment of awkward silence.

 

Magnus heard footsteps on the stairs and he couldn’t help but check out Alec as he walked down them. He was perfect, his hazel eyes were incredible, so expressive and innocent and then his legs just went on for days.

 

Magnus didn’t know how much longer he could keep this up, he needed to tell Alec soon that he was attracted to him and wanted to be more than just friends or he thought he was going to explode.

 

“Everything went well? Your brother is adorable,” Magnus asked.

 

_Yea it did, thanks. He fell asleep pretty fast, probably in an ice cream coma_ , Alec signed.

 

Magnus wasn’t sure what the last symbol was that Alec had signed. Up until then, he was pretty impressed with himself at how quickly his knowledge of sign language had come back.

 

“Oh forgive me, but what was this symbol?” Magnus asked while he mimicked the sign again for Alec.

 

_Coma? Like when you eat too much food and get really lazy_ , Alec tried to explain better.

 

“Aha food coma! Got it, yes, Max did eat his body weight in mint chocolate chip ice cream,” Magnus giggled.

 

Magnus watched as Alec giggled back, he had this great smile when he thought something was funny.

 

_So did you find us a movie to watch_? Alec asked.

 

“Not exactly, I think I’ve looked through almost every page but I’m just not sure what you like,” Magnus said with an apologetic look.

 

_Well, my sister Izzy said the movie Baby Driver was pretty good. Have you seen it_? Alec asked.

 

Magnus had not seen the movie but anything that Alec suggested seemed like the best idea in the world to Magnus. “That sounds perfect, I trust Isabelle’s judgment.”

 

Magnus selected the movie and pressed play. He was disappointed when he watched Alec sit on the recliner chair that was next to the couch that he was sitting on.

 

He wasn’t sure if he should say something or not, he didn’t want to make it weird. But then he saw Alec looking over from the side towards the seat next to him.

 

“You know you could come sit with me on the couch if you wanted, I won’t bite,” Magnus asked nervously.

 

_Thanks yea sure. Sorry, I just wasn’t sure where you wanted me to sit_ , Alec signed back timidly.

 

As soon as Alec had sat down next to him, he could feel a pull, a force, a connection, he wasn’t even sure what to call it but it was powerful.

 

The movie was actually pretty good, it had some great music in it. But they kept getting distracting in conversation so by the middle of it, they both weren’t sure of what was happening.

 

“It’s getting pretty late. When do your parents usually get home?” Magnus asked.

 

_They work a lot. They both work down at the police station, my dad is a cop and my mom works as a 911 operator. They work some weird hours but they say they get better pay if they work the off shifts_ , Alec explained.

 

“Well I must say, I’m glad that you all moved here this year and not last year. I’m not proud of it but I have been to that police station a few times and it wasn’t just to visit,” Magnus admitted.

 

_That’s okay, I wouldn’t have judged you_ , Alec replied.

 

Magnus felt like he could tell Alec anything, he was so caring and made Magnus feel so comfortable. Magnus found himself telling him things that he really intended to keep to himself in fear that he would scare him away.

 

“Well, thank you Alexander, that isn’t true for a lot of people,” Magnus said, and without realizing it he had placed his hand on Alec’s forearm.

 

Magnus looked up at Alec, he didn’t seem unhappy with the touch, in fact, he had given Magnus a small smile in return. So he decided that he was going to be brave and follow through with what his heart was telling him.

 

Magnus leaned in towards Alec to kiss him. He had wanted to kiss him every day at school that week and he wasn’t going to back down if Alec wanted to as well. Lucky for Magnus, Alec seemed to be leaning in as well.

 

But as soon as their lips were almost touching, Magnus was pulled from the moment by another voice.

 

“Hello Alec, I’m home early the station house was pretty dead,” Robert said as he made his appearance in the living room as the boys quickly separated.

 

Alec had stood up sort of awkwardly _. Hi dad, this is my friend Magnus from school. I’m glad you got out early, I’m sure you need the rest_ , Alec signed to his dad.

 

Magnus could tell that Alec’s father had clearly seen what was about to happen, his eyes were wide and he wasn’t really looking at Alec as he signed to him.

 

Magnus felt bad for Alec, it was clear that he was uncomfortable and looked really nervous about the whole thing. They hadn’t talked about his parents too much tonight, so Magnus wasn’t sure what to expect from Mr. Lightwood.

 

“Mr. Lightwood it’s really nice to meet you. I’m Magnus, you have a wonderful home,” Magnus said trying to lighten the mood.

 

“Well thanks Magnus, it’s nice to meet you too. Sorry for interrupting your movie, I’m just going to head upstairs, I’m pretty tired,” Robert replied.

_Good night dad. The movie should be over soon, we’ll make sure to be quiet_ , Alec signed.

 

“Good night boys,” Robert said while he turned and went upstairs.

 

Magnus watched as Alec sat on the couch, he was sort of rubbing his head with his hands in a panicked way.

 

“Are you okay Alexander?” Magnus asked.

 

Alec looked up at Magnus with a worried expression. _Do you think he saw us?_

Magnus felt really bad, Alec looked so scared. He felt sorry that he was still hiding who he was from his parents. He wasn’t really sure what to say to him to make him feel better.

 

“I’m not really sure, he didn’t really give anything away. I think if he did see and was mad about then he probably would have said something so I wouldn’t worry too much,” Magnus said trying to make Alec feel better.

 

_I was going to tell them. Lydia was going to help me, but then they told us we had to move and I just didn’t think it was the right time_ , Alec explained.

 

“Well, listen, I really like you Alexander, and I want to get to know you more. And if your dad hadn’t walked in, I would have been over the moon about kissing you. So if you ever choose that you want to try again in telling them, I am here to help in any way that you need,” Magnus said confidently.

 

Magnus wasn’t sure what had possessed him to tell Alec everything but once he did he couldn’t help but feel proud of himself. They were both feeling very vulnerable at this moment and Magnus was glad that he wasn’t running away from his real true feeling.

 

_Wow, I like you to Magnus. I’m actually really shocked that you like me like that. But I need to be honest too, I’ve never had any type of relationship, and you would have been my first kiss just then_ , Alec replied.

 

Magnus reached out to take Alec’s hand in his own. “I would have loved to have been your first kiss Alexander, perhaps someday soon that will happen,” Magnus said encouragingly.

 

The two boys had decided to cool things down and finish watching the rest of the movie, they both had a lot to process.

 

Just as the final scene was rolling, Magnus heard a small noise as Alec reached into his back pocket to take out his phone.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

Alec heard the familiar chirp of his phone. He couldn’t help but think that this was probably bad news, it was close to midnight and he had told Izzy to text him if she needed anything.

 

**Izzy: Brooooo, I can’t find Jace… he wentyhn off to make out with Clary somewhere, I need to getd out of here, my head is spinning!**

Alec showed the text to Magus. _I think she’s had too much to drink. Do you know where Kaelie lives? I need to go pick her up._

 

“Of course I do, I can go with you, I don’t mind, especially if Isabelle is in trouble,” Magnus replied as he jumped off the couch to turn the TV off.

 

**Alec: Go sit down somewhere quiet, Magnus and I are coming to get you now, find some water too.**

**Izzy: Okay, pleasetg hurry. I’m so sleepyyy.**

Alec was panicking, he hated thinking about Izzy sitting all by herself. What if she did fall asleep and wrong person finds her like that?

 

_Magnus we’ll have to sneak out. I don’t want her to get in trouble with my parents, so try and be really quiet_ , Alec explained.

 

Luckily it was a really short drive over to the party. Magnus was being super helpful and had offered to drive his car there.

 

Alec walked into the huge house and was shocked to see how many people were there. The music was so loud he couldn’t even hear himself think.

 

Magnus had tried to say something to him but he couldn’t hear a word over the music. He smiled when he saw Magnus cleverly sign out what he was trying to say to him.

 

_I think if we split up we’ll cover more ground faster. Text me if you find her_ , Magnus signed.

 

Alec nodded but raced off quickly to start looking for his sister. He searched the kitchen and the living room with no luck. He was about to head outside to look on the porch when he was interrupted by his own body betraying him.

 

Alec started to cough, and not like a regular cough, he felt like he was choking in a way. This was strange because Alec hadn’t had a coughing fit this bad since he was a kid. But he didn’t have time to deal with this, he had to find his sister.

 

Someone took pity on him and handed him a large glass of something yellow that he assumed was lemonade. He started drinking it quickly hoping his choking would subside so he could go back to look for Izzy.

 

The lemonade tasted funny and it was sort of burning his throat on the way down but he assumed it was just from his coughing fit. He had another full glass before his coughing started to subside.

 

Alec made it outside to the porch but unfortunately instead of finding Izzy, he ran straight into Camille talking with four of her friends.

 

“Well, well, well… look who decided to join the party. Are you sure Kaelie invited you? I doubt she’d want some freak at her party,” Camille said with a laugh.

 

Alec didn’t have time for this, he needed to find Izzy and his head was starting to spin. He didn’t know what was happening, his vision was getting blurry too. So he went to turn and head back inside.

 

“Hey, I’m talking to you. What are you so much of an idiot that you can’t understand when someone is talking to you?” Camille snarled.

 

Alec usually wasn’t one for confrontation but he didn’t really seem to mind at the moment so when he came to the sliding door, he turned and gave her the middle finger.

 

Alec watched as her eyes turned wild, she clearly wasn’t expecting him to do that. It probably didn’t help that her friends seemed to think it was pretty funny too.

 

Alec’s headache was getting worse, now he was getting really worried. He couldn’t find Izzy and something was wrong with him. He went to get out his phone to text Magnus but luckily heard him from afar screaming his name.

 

Alec stumbled over towards Magnus who he was happy to see was standing next to his sister and helping to hold her upright.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

Magnus had found Isabelle upstairs curled up on the couch in Kaelie’s room, Magnus had known exactly which room was hers as they had spent quite a few drunken nights in here themselves that he was hoping never to repeat again.

 

Isabelle was fine, just drunk and needed to get home to sleep it off. But Magnus was really worried because when Alec walked towards him, he could clearly tell something was off.

 

Magnus somehow pushed them both towards the front door and out to the car. Isabelle had laid down in the back seat and Alec was sitting up in front with his head touching the side window.

 

“Alexander, what’s wrong? Did you drink?” Magnus asked. He had his suspicions, but he didn’t think Alec would be so selfish to try and enjoy the party when he was so worried about his sister before they had left.

 

Alec could hardly sign at this point but Magnus tried his best to follow along with his sloppy hand motions.

 

Magnus slapped his hand hard against his head when he figured it out. “That was not lemonade! How did you not realize? Kaelie’s punch is one of the strongest drinks, I’ve ever had, she puts everything in it and then masks the flavor with lots of sugar and lemonade.”

 

Alec again tried to respond but he was clearly very affected by the alcohol so he was having a lot of trouble. But what he did get from him was that he was choking so bad that he just started chugging the stuff.

 

“Alright, try not to worry darling, I’m going to get you both home safely,” Magnus said reassuringly.

 

Magnus wasn’t sure but he didn’t think Alec had ever drunk alcohol before. He had no clue how he was going to get the two siblings inside unnoticed by the cop sleeping 10 feet away, but he was damn sure going to try.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

Luckily for Magnus by the time they made it home, Isabelle had perked up a bit and could walk on her own. She was still pretty drunk though so she didn’t even notice the state of her brother. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and said she was headed off to bed.

 

Magnus had made into the kitchen with Alec and propped him up in a chair. He wanted him to drink some water before going to bed so that he wouldn’t be sick tomorrow.

 

But as he was placing the water bottle up to Alec’s lips, the worst thing that could have happened at the moment did.

 

“What on earth is going on?” Someone shouted as she flipped on the lights. Magnus had come face to face with Mrs. Lightwood for the first time and she did not look happy.

 

“What is wrong with my son? Oh my god is that alcohol on his breath. He went to that party, didn’t he? And who are you?” She kept shouting at him.

 

“Look Mrs. Lightwood, I, um, I just wanted to make sure Alec got home okay. I’m Magnus, just a friend from school. Alec, he, um… he,” Magnus wasn’t sure what to say, he knew Alec didn’t want to get his sister in trouble.

 

“I don’t want to hear it right now, I can look after my son, I think it’s time that you leave,” Maryse said sternly.

 

Magnus felt awful, he couldn’t believe how terrible this night had turned out. He was mad about the first impression he had made on Alec’s mom and he felt guilty that he couldn’t figure out some way to explain what had happened to get Alec off the hook.

 

He watched as Alec’s mom helped to support his body weight to get him up the stairs. Magnus drove away with a sick feeling in his stomach, he couldn’t wait to text with Alec tomorrow and make sure he was okay.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 

Alec woke up the next morning feeling frustrated with himself. How had he not noticed that he was drinking alcohol, he had been so sheltered in life that he didn’t even know what a drink tasted like.

 

He remembered running into his mom downstairs but couldn’t really figure out what happened to Magnus or how he had gotten to bed.

 

He was about to head down the hall to the bathroom when his sister rushed out of her room across the hall and pushed him back onto his bed and closed the door.

 

“Alec this is a mess! Mom and dad were fighting this morning. Mom is so mad, she thinks you sneaked out to go to the party, she said you were drunk! What the hell is going on?” Izzy was shouting frantically while pacing back and forth.

 

_I did Iz, you said you needed a ride home, so I came with Magnus to get you. But I accidentally drank something with alcohol in it and things went south from there_ , Alec explained.

 

“How do you accidentally drink, Alec? It’s okay if you wanted to try it, I’m not judging you,” Izzy replied.

 

Alec knew how this all looked. It looked like he was tempted at the party to try something new and that he had decided to get drunk instead of going and save his sister.

 

_No, I swear, I didn’t mean too. I was coughing really bad and needed something to drink, so I just swallowed the first thing I saw. You know I’ve never drank before so I think it affected me really fast. I hated the feeling, I never want to drink again_ , Alec signed in defeat.

 

Izzy came over and sat down next to Alec. “Hey, this isn’t your fault, all you did was try and rescue me. I’ll tell mom it was all my fault.”

_I don’t think it’s going to matter what you say. But let’s go and talk to her together and see what kind of damage control we can do_ , Alec signed.

 

Alec went to wash up and then they went to head downstairs to face his parents. But Alec stopped when he saw Izzy’s panicked expression and brought her back to his room to see what was wrong.

 

_What’s wrong? You look like your second guessing things_ , Alec asked.

 

“No, no… It’s just I remembered that next weekend there is this fashion convention in the city that I am supposed to go to, I was even going to invite Magnus. I was going to try and line up an internship for this summer. But when mom grounds me there is no way she is going to let me go, even if I try and convince her that it’s for my career,” Izzy said.

 

Alec sighed, he knew his sister had been looking forward to this fashion thing for weeks now. She was so happy and excited when he told her about it.

 

_Iz, you deserve to be able to go. You’ve been talking about getting your first internship for years now. Just let me handle this, grounding me isn’t much different than my current life now so it’ll be fine_ , Alec signed thoughtfully to his sister.

 

“Alec, I love you so much, but are you sure?” Izzy asked.

 

_I’m sure_ , Alec replied with a smile.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

Alec took a deep breath and walked downstairs to face his parents. They were finishing breakfast with Max and his mother did not look happy from the glare she was giving him.

 

“Max, sweetie. Go upstairs and play in your room please,” Maryse said sternly to her youngest child.

 

Max could feel the mood shift in the room, he gave Alec a small smile but headed up as he was told.

 

_Mom, let me explain. I did go to the party, but I swear the drinking was by accident. I didn’t realize it had alcohol in it_ , Alec signed.

 

“How do you expect me to believe anything you say right now? I told you not to go to that party and look what happened. Drinking is dangerous, you could have gotten sick. You couldn’t even communicate with me last night! All your signing was coming out like gibberish. I can’t believe how stupid you were!” Maryse’s voice was getting louder and louder.

 

Alec knew this wasn’t going to go well, but he had promised Izzy that he would take the heat.

 

_I’m sorry, I won’t ever do it again. I know there isn’t anything I can do to show that you can trust me,_ Alec replied.

 

Alec watched as is mother looked over at his father. His father looked uncomfortable, almost as if he wasn’t on the same page as her, but he also wasn’t saying anything to go against her either.

 

“Actually there is…” Maryse paused. “We never had any issues with you in New York, I can only assume that your new friend is becoming a bad influence on you. I don’t want you seeing that boy from last night ever again,” she proclaimed.

 

Alec was in shock. How in the world was she blaming Magnus? He couldn’t remember things perfectly from last night but he remembers that all Magnus was trying to do was give him some water before he went to sleep. How could she think that he was to blame?

 

_No… he is not to blame. He helped me get home safely mom. It was my idea to go to the party, Magnus has been a good friend to me, please don’t make me do this,_ Alec signed frantically.

 

“I will not discuss this any further, I won’t let things slip like this Alec. This kind of rebellious behavior will not be tolerated. Do you understand me?” she remarked coldly.

 

_Yes, I understand_ , Alec signed in defeat. He knew there was no way to get through to his mother right now.

 

“Good. Now I want your phone, you’ll get it back when I think you’re ready,” Maryse said as she held out her hand.

_No, please… I won’t be able to text with Lydia. Please don’t do this mom, you know I need this to communicate_ , Alec tried to explain.

 

“You won’t need it that much Alec because believe me you aren’t leaving this house much in the next few weeks so your sign language will suffice. Now again, give me the phone!” she shouted.

 

Now Alec was mad. His mom knew that she was taking away a part of his voice, he couldn’t believe she would ever alienate him like this even more from the outside world. He threw the phone down on the table in anger and ran back upstairs.

 

Alec heard someone calling him from behind.

 

“Whoa, what the hell is going on? Alec, what’s wrong?” Jace shouted at him.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

Jace had one of the best nights of his life, he had finally met someone that he made an actual connection with. Jace had a lot of hookups at his old school but there was something different about Clary. He found himself wanting to be with her almost always and things were always so effortless between them.

 

Jace and Clary had left the party pretty quickly after they were done dancing for a while. They wanted to just chill and talk but it was really too loud in that house to do it.

 

“We can go back to my house, Jace? My mom is at her boyfriend’s place tonight so we can hang there,” Clary asked.

 

“Okay yea, let me just find Izzy and check in, we can walk her home on the way to your place,” Jace replied. They found her in the kitchen talking to some tall, blonde guy.

 

“Hey, we’re getting out of here. Can I walk you home? It’s on the way to Clary’s house,” Jace asked her.

 

Jace didn’t know why but he got a bad vibe coming off of the guy she was standing with but luckily he didn’t need to worry because Izzy said she was ready to go anyway.

 

“Yea I’m going to head out soon, but I met Clary’s friend Maia, and oh my god she is so nice! She said she’ll give me a ride home, I figured you two would be heading off somewhere so don’t worry about me,” Izzy said.

 

Jace rolled his eyes, he didn’t like what Izzy was insinuating. He didn’t want Clary to get the wrong idea of him. Sure he wanted to have sex with Clary but for the first time, he wanted so much more than that.

 

“Alright go find Maia soon okay, it’s getting pretty late,” Jace said.

 

Jace and Clary had stayed up all night talking and laughing, there was so much that he wanted to learn about her. They ended up falling asleep in each other’s arms on the couch after watching the sunrise.

 

So that’s why, when Jace got home that morning and heard his mother screaming, he was annoyed that his bliss was being interrupted.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

Alec ran back upstairs and slammed his door. He knew she was going to be mad but she was out of line in taking his phone away like that. To isolate him from Lydia and being able to communicate with most people was just wrong.

 

He didn’t even have time to be upset though because his two siblings burst into his room.

 

“What the hell Alec, what’s the matter?” Jace asked.

 

Alec was about to explain when Izzy started to cry and blurted out the story herself. “… and I’m just so sorry Alec, I should never have let you take all the blame,” she finished.

 

“Izzy, you told me you were leaving with Maia! What the hell, why did you stay and get drunk instead? Do you know how stupid that was? And now Alec is in deep shit and got drunk for the first time all by himself. Your lucky nothing happened to him and that Magnus was there to get him home safe!” Jace yelled.

 

Alec felt a bit bad for Izzy, Jace was really laying into her. But he was confused too, why didn’t she leave with Maia like she said she would?

 

_What happened Iz, why did you stay?_ Alec asked.

 

Izzy’s eyes darted to the floor. “Look I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stay. You know that guy I was talking too, he asked me to have one more drink with him. I was feeling fine before so I didn’t think that one more drink was an issue. But I starting feeling really off and sleepy afterward and that’s when I texted Alec. I don’t know why I didn’t think to just text you Jace to come back but I wasn’t in my right mind at that point. Honestly, I can’t even really remember much about last night anymore.”

 

“Jesus, Iz. You may have drugged you. Think about it, you got super drunk and sleepy and you can’t remember anything. You need to stay the hell away from that Sebastian guy, he sounds like bad news. I’m gonna kill him!” Jace said furiously. He had gotten up from the bed and was pacing back and forth.

 

“No, no I don’t think he would do that. He seemed too nice, he was really interested in everything I had to say,” Izzy defended him not even realizing how blind she was being.

 

“Oh wake up Iz, the guy was manipulating you. I saw him for all of five seconds last night and even I could tell that he looked like bad news,” Jace snorted back.

_Jace is right Izzy, this guy sounds dangerous. Now I promise, I don’t regret coming to get you. I think we should all just cool off and deal with the consequences of this_ , Alec signed, trying to diffuse the tension between his siblings.

 

Izzy was still upset but she hugged her brothers and left to go be alone for a while. Alec couldn’t believe that his sister might have been drugged. He would need to ask Magnus about this Sebastian person and see if this is something he is capable of.

 

“Well this is a mess,” Jace said while rubbing his face. “Are you okay buddy, I’m sorry I wasn’t there with you.”

 

_It’s not your fault Jace. I was stupid I should have realized that there was alcohol in the drink_ , Alec signed.

 

“Hey it’s not like you have ever tasted it before. And I had some of that punch and it did a good job of masking the flavor pretty. But what the hell Alec, why did you take all the blame? Mom is going to be on your shit now for a while!” Jace asked.

 

_Izzy has that fashion thing in New York next weekend. But that doesn’t even matter, now that I know Izzy was probably drugged, I’m glad she isn’t getting reamed out by mom right now. She doesn’t deserve it,_ Alec explained.

 

“Yea but neither do you, Alec. I feel so selfish, I should have never left for Clary’s until I knew Izzy was home safe,” Jace said.

 

_Look Jace, you thought she was leaving with Maia. I know how much you like Clary, it’s okay to want to spend time with her, this isn’t on you Jace_ , Alec replied trying to ease his brother’s guilt.

 

The two sat in silence for a minute until Jace spoke up with something that Alec didn’t expect.

 

“God, I’m so glad that Magnus was with you guys. Sounds like he really saved the day and got you both home safe,” Jace said.

 

Alec was glad that at least someone was seeing how helpful Magnus had been in this whole situation. _I don’t know what would have happened if he wasn’t there Jace. But mom saw him in the kitchen with me last night and totally got the wrong impression. She doesn’t want me seeing him anymore._

His mom wanting him to stay away from Magnus was what hurt the most.

 

“You can still see him at school, right? Mom will cool off eventually. And I’ll try my best to guilt her into getting your phone back so you guys can text, okay?” Jace said reassuringly.

 

_Thanks, that’d be great because I don’t know how long I can stay away from him. We… We…_ Alec paused as he signed. He wasn’t sure if he should tell Jace this but he also knew he didn’t want to keep it all to himself.

 

_We had a great time hanging out last night, we almost kissed_ , Alec finished signing.

 

“Oh my god! Alec, that’s awesome man. Your first kiss, well almost kiss. Wait how was it an almost kiss?” Jace asked with a smile.

 

Alec told him the story, including their father barging in at the worst possible moment.

 

Jace couldn’t help but giggle a little bit, “Wow that is shitty timing. Sorry, it was ruined for you man. But don’t worry, it sounds like Magnus likes you too so I’m sure you’ll get another opportunity,” Jace tried to comfort him.

_Glad I could amuse you_ , Alec teased.

 

Jace smiled, “I’m gonna go take a shower and then sleep for a bit, I’ll come check in later okay?”

 

Alec nodded. He was so glad he had decided to tell Jace how he was feeling, it felt nice to have someone to talk it out with. Even though his siblings knew that he was gay, Alec had never really had anyone special to talk about with them until now.

 

Alec looked up, Jace had turned around as he was about to leave with a worried expression.

 

“Um Alec, the coughing, and choking… Was it just like a stupid thing? Or did it feel like before? You know like when you were a kid,” Jace asked nervously.

 

Alec knew exactly what Jace was talking about. The first symptoms to manifest with his throat tumor were coughing and choking. Once he had difficulty swallowing was when he was taken to the doctor and learned what was causing his discomfort.

 

Alec didn’t want to lie to his brother, it did sort of remind him of when he was a kid. But it also happened super suddenly and only once so he really didn’t think it could be anything. When it happened as a kid, it was almost a daily thing and this was just an isolated incident.

 

_It was just a coughing fit Jace, I think I was so worked up trying to find Izzy_ , Alec explained.

 

Jace nodded with relief and left the room.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

Alec had spent most of the day in his room trying to occupy his mind with his homework. But he was getting hungry so he decided to venture out to the kitchen for some food.

 

“Hey Alec, you doing okay?” His father asked.

 

_I’m okay. Just trying to stay busy, got a lot of homework done_ , Alec replied.

 

“Good for you. Do you..um… do you want to go for a walk with me?” Robert asked.

 

Alec’s heart started to beat a little quicker. Why did his dad want to see him? Was he going to ask about Magnus? Alec had a million questions running through his head.

 

But Alec also knew that his dad was a lot more level-headed than his mom was so he decided he would see why his dad wanted to spend time with him.

_Yea sure, let me just eat some cereal and then I’ll be ready_ , Alec replied.

 

Alec and his dad started to walk down the block, the two walked in complete silence for a while until his dad finally decided to speak up.

 

“So, I can’t help but think that your mother and I don’t have the full story of what happened last night. I mean I saw you last night before I went to bed, you looked perfectly happy hanging at home with your friend. Why did you decide to sneak out to go to the party?” Robert asked.

 

_Look, I can’t really explain it further, I just had to get there. But I swear dad, I did not mean to drink_ , Alec replied.

 

“I believe you son, but you need to be more aware of your surroundings if you take a sip of something and it tastes weird then just put it back down. Drink water straight from the faucet if you have to.”

 

_I know, believe me, I learned my lesson. I never want to drink again. But dad, it’s so unfair that mom blames Magnus. He only went to the party because of me and then helped me get home safely_ , Alec explained.

 

“Your mom is too angry right now to listen to reason. Just give her time to cool off, she was so scared last night. She woke me up freaking out about you Alec. She was so upset because you had gotten yourself into an unsafe situation,” Robert tried to defend his wife.

 

_Fine, I get it, I’ll give her time_ , Alec replied.

 

The two had made it into downtown and turned to head back to the house. Alec noticed that his dad had gotten quiet again and that he looked pretty nervous too.

 

“Um Alec, you know I love you, son. I debated whether or not to ask you this but… it looked like I may have interrupted something between you and Magnus last night?” Robert finally admitted.

 

Alec started to panic. His breathing picked up, no matter how fast he tried to breathe he felt like he wasn’t getting enough air. His legs felt weak and he could hardly hear his dad shouting at him.

 

“Alec! Breath, nice slow breaths, come on you can do it.” Robert shouted to him.

 

Alec finally started to catch his breath. His limbs were still shaking but he was able to hold himself up.

 

“Hey, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pressured you into talking about it, just know that I am here if you ever want to,” Robert said trying to make his son feel better.

 

Alec knew he shouldn’t be so afraid. His father didn’t seem angry at all. Instead, he was being very open and welcoming. So Alec decided he was going to try and be strong.

 

_I’m okay, I was just caught off guard. You aren’t wrong, you did sort of interrupt something_ , Alec signed cautiously.

 

He watched as his father nodded, and held his breath in anticipation of what he was going to say next.

 

“Well geez, I’m sorry that I got in the way, that must have been awkward. Magnus seemed really nice, and I’m glad that he was there to help you last night,” Robert said with a smile.

 

Alec couldn’t describe the joy that he felt in that moment. Here he was talking openly to his father about his sexuality and he seemed just as loving as he did before.

 

_I love you, dad. Thanks for being so understanding_ , Alec signed to his dad and embraced him in a big hug.

 

This walk was something that Alec was never going to forget about. He felt so lucky to have a dad like this in his life.

 

The two walked towards the house slowly so that they could cherish the moment.

 

“Did you know that one of my best friends I had growing up was gay?” Robert admitted.

 

And that is how Alec learned about the story of Michael Wayland.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: at the end of the chapter, there is a scene that involves a hate crime against people with disabilities.

Chapter 7

 

Magnus felt off for the rest of the weekend. He didn’t realize how used to seeing Alec at school every day and texting with him each night he had gotten. Magnus could be so open with him, he never felt judged by Alec in any way.

 

Isabelle had texted him on Saturday and told him everything, she told him how Alec was in a lot of trouble. More trouble than he should be so that his sister wouldn’t face any of the blame. Magnus knew he loved his siblings more than anything, but now he realized that Alec would do anything he possibly could for them.

 

As soon as Izzy told him about how she was feeling after the drink that Sebastian had given her, he knew that he had drugged her. Magnus was definitely not proud of this, but he hung out a lot with Sebastian when he was dating Camille. And the two together could come up with some truly evil plans. He knew he would have to tell the Lightwoods that it was probably true on Monday when he saw them.

 

Magnus raced downstairs on Monday morning, he was never this excited for school but it also meant he gets to see Alec. He was making some eggs when Catarina walked in beside him giving him a funny look.

 

“You know you are humming right? At 6:45 in the morning, I never thought I’d see the day,” Catarina teased.

 

Magnus smiled, “Well if you must know, I am quite looking forward to school today, and a certain hazel-eyed beauty.

 

Magnus had told Catarina all about Alec when he first met him and about everything that had happened on Friday including their almost first kiss.

 

“Ah yes, I still need to meet him, if he is as lovely as you say he is, I know that I am going to love him. Now go figure out how you’re going to do some damage control with that mother of his. She sounds like a piece of work,” Catarina said tenderly.

 

Magnus gave her a kiss on the cheek and went to leave, Catarina rush after him and shouted from the door. “But please, make sure to pay attention in the actual classes!”

 

Magnus turned and smiled, “You sound just like Raphael, I promise I will do my best Cat! Love you.”

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

Alec had been antsy all weekend long stuck in the house, there was a weird vibe between everyone there. Without giving anything away, Izzy had fought with his mother Saturday night about her treatment of him so the whole house was off. Alec couldn’t be happier to be heading to school this morning.

 

But he was most excited about seeing Magnus, since the day they had met, they saw each other every day in the cafeteria and Alec didn’t realize how much he hated to not see him.

 

Alec was about to head downstairs when he was stopped by his sister, “No Alec, please don’t wear black jeans and a black sweater. How about the dark green shirt you have? That one looks great on you!”

 

Alec didn’t think anything was wrong with black on black, but he also wanted to look his best for Magnus so he did as she suggested and put on his dark green shirt instead. He didn’t want to admit it but it did look better.

 

Most of his family was up and in the kitchen as he fixed his breakfast.

 

_Morning, everybody_ , Alec signed. Alec went over and kissed the top of Max’s head and ruffled his hair a bit. _Max, are you excited for school today?_ He asked.

 

His little brother clearly wasn’t awake yet, so all he got was a small nod attached to a big yawn, Alec smiled at how cute his brother was sometimes.

 

Alec and his mom hadn’t talked much all weekend, he was trying really hard to just stay in the background and get a lot of his homework done.

 

He was a bit confused this morning because his mom looked more upset today than she did the last time he saw her which was last night at dinner. She didn’t say much to anyone and then just said a quick goodbye and left for work.

 

But then Alec heard a shuffling sound and he realized that his dad was sliding his phone towards him at the table.

 

“Your mother and I had a talk last night, I told her that you needed your phone with you at school, it wasn’t right to take it away when you need it to communicate with your classmates,” Robert reported.

 

Alec knew that their “talk” was likely an argument. His dad had always gone along with was his mom said when it came to discipline. Alec was pretty shocked to hear that he had voiced his own opinion to her.

 

_Thanks, dad. Thanks for standing up for me. Was she really mad?_ Alec asked.

 

“Well sure she was thrilled about it but don’t worry about it son, it was the right thing to do,” Robert replied.

 

Alec knew he didn’t really need to ask, but he couldn’t help but be a little worried that his dad may have revealed a little more than he would like to his mother. _Did you_ … he paused… _did you tell her anything else? You know, about me?_

Robert sighed, “Of course not, I wouldn’t do that, not until you’re ready. I don’t like keeping things from my wife but that is not business to share.”

 

Alec nodded with a smile, he was so thankful that he had decided to tell his dad the truth.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

Magnus was trying to wait patiently on the quad but he kept looking towards the parking lot waiting to see Alec coming towards him.

 

Magnus was so eager to get to school, that he had left early and was now torturing himself even more by sitting and waiting longer. He was about to start flipping through his Facebook feed when he quickly dropped the phone back in his pocket when he finally saw who he was looking for.

 

Alec looked amazing today, he had on an olive green shirt that made his eyes sparkle even more than they already did. Magnus was happy to see that Alec had just as big of a smile on as he did.

 

Magnus grabbed Alec’s hand and nudged him over to the ledge he had been sitting on. Luckily Alec’s siblings realized that they wanted a minute alone so they kept walking towards the front door of the school.

 

“Hi… I’ve missed you,” Magnus said, as he sort of entwined his fingers within Alec’s, he was careful that no one saw but he just couldn’t help it, he needed to feel the warmth of his touch again.

 

Alec pulled back gently, Magnus was disappointed for a second but then realized Alec just wanted to respond and obviously he needed his hands to do so.

 

_“I’ve missed you too, Magnus, thank you so much for everything on Friday. I don’t know what would have happened if you weren’t there_ , Alec replied, grabbing Magnus’s hand back when he was finished.

 

Magnus was glad too, he still couldn’t believe what a mess their night had turned into. Magnus had replayed the situation in his mind a hundred times already and he still felt guilty about suggesting that he and Alec split up to look for Isabelle.

 

“Well, I’m sorry for my part in all of it. I should never have told you to go off on your own, we should have stayed together,” Magnus said with his eyes down.

 

Magnus felt a warm hand on his chin lifting his head up, he was met by Alec’s kind eyes.

 

_What are you even saying Magnus? None of this was your fault. Who knows what would have happened if you weren’t there_ , Alec signed reassuringly.

 

The two boys ended up sitting outside on the ledge until the bell rang. Magnus never wanted this moment to leave, Alec had grabbed his hand and was holding it behind his leg so that no one would see.

 

But Magnus saw Alec’s head perk up after a moment, _I’ve been wanting to tell you. On Saturday, I talked with my dad and he asked about you and about when he saw us on Friday. I ended up telling him the truth and it went really well_ , he signed with a smile.

 

“That’s amazing, Alexander. I’m so proud of you!” Magnus exclaimed.

 

Magnus was so proud of Alec. He himself never really had to come out, by the time he actually knew he liked boys and girls he didn’t really have any parents to come out too. Magnus, Cat, and Rag always talked so openly that it was just something that was always known. But he knew coming out to your parents can be a scary thing so he was so happy for Alec that it had gone well.

 

_Yea, I still need to tell my mom but I think I’m going to wait a while on the front_ , Alec replied.

 

“Ah yes, one step at a time. How is your mother? She was pretty mad seeing you like that in the kitchen, I hate that we had to meet like that,” Magnus asked.

 

Magnus noticed the sad expression that had appeared on Alec’s face. Maybe he shouldn’t have brought up his mother, Isabelle hadn’t really told him in detail what had happened but he could tell it wasn’t good.

 

_She was really mad, didn’t believe me at all about the drinking_ , Alec paused for a moment before continuing… _she told me to stay away from you_.

 

Magnus's eyes widened. Was Alec telling him goodbye? He was about to start to panic when Alec finally continued on.

 

_But Magnus, I don’t want to stay away from you. She has no clue what she is talking about, and as much as I hate to lie to her, I still want to see you, that is if you do too_? Alec signed shyly.

 

Magnus was so glad that he had gotten the wrong impression. “Of course I want to see you Alexander, we still have to go on our first official date too.”

 

Alec was about to respond when they were interrupted by the sound of the bell. Magnus gave Alec’s hand a squeeze and got up from their cozy spot on the ledge. “Come on darling, let’s head to class.”

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

Alec’s day was going perfectly so far, he was pretty sure that he was just asked on a date for the first time ever.

 

But his good mood was interrupted in chemistry by a frantic looking Simon. “Alec, I need to talk to you, like right now!”

 

Alec took out his phone, thankfully he had gotten it back from his mother this morning. Simon’s worried expression was sort of freaking him out a bit.

 

**What is it? Are you okay?** He asked his friend.

 

“I’m fine! It’s you I’m worried about, I overheard Camille talking to her friends this morning about you, she’s super pissed, she said you flipped her off or something. You need to be careful man, she’s crazy. I wouldn’t put it past her to try and get back at you,” Simon explained

 

At first, Alec had no clue what Simon was talking about, but then he started to remember. Why didn’t he just walk away that night, it must have been the alcohol affecting him, because normally he doesn’t react when people are being stupid.

 

**It was at that party everyone went to on Friday, things got really out of hand. Izzy got really drunk, we think she may have been drugged but aren’t sure yet, that creep Sebastian was involved. I flipped Camille off after she said something insulting, I didn’t realize it would be such a big deal.**

 

Simon’s eyes narrowed in anger, “What do you mean she was drugged? Like he tried to date rape drug her? I’m gonna kill that asshole!” Simon shouted.

 

Alec put his finger to his lips, Simon was being really loud and they were sitting in the middle of class. Mr. Starkweather looked in their direction and Alec didn’t want to draw any more attention to themselves.

 

Alec knew that Simon had a crush on Izzy but his reaction clearly showed that maybe it was more than that.

 

**Hey, calm down. Jace and I are just as mad about it as you are. We don’t know for sure, we just think so because of how Izzy described how she was feeling. Jace and I are going to confront Sebastian about it later. Let us handle it.**

 

Simon nodded his head just as Mr. Starkweather started class.

 

Alec tried, but he was struggling to concentrate in class, he had never had to deal with anyone like Camille before. He couldn’t wait for lunch so that he could talk this through with Magnus, his siblings, and his friends.

 

~~~~~~

 

Magnus grabbed his lunch and went to find everybody, it had taken Simon and Clary a couple days but they were finally treating him like a friend again.

 

Magnus had been worried for this school year, he really thought he would only have Raph to be close to, but he was so glad that he had found such a great group of friends.

 

As he sat down he noticed Simon talking faster than he normally did, which usually meant he was pretty fired up about something.

 

Once Magnus was caught up with everything, he was just as fired up as Simon. Magnus knew exactly what Camille was capable of and he had no intention of letting her hurt Alec in any way.

 

“Let me handle Camille, I can talk her down and make her see that she’s overreacting,” Magnus added.

 

_I don’t want you to have to talk her because of me, I know how hard you’ve been trying to avoid your old life Magnus, I’m sure it’ll be okay_ , Alec signed.

 

Magnus sighed, “Well, as much as I wish that were true darling, Camille is as petty as they come, if she feels slighted she will always try to get even.”

 

Jace seemed to agree with Magnus, “Please let him help Alec, you don’t have to deal with this alone.”

 

Alec nodded, _Thanks everyone, I really didn’t mean to get on anyone’s bad side here._

 

Clary spoke up to try and make him feel better, “Hey… Everyone here wants to say fuck you to Camille, you just happened to do it first. If Magnus can’t talk her down, I say everyone at this table does the same thing, we can all flip her off together. She’ll spend most of the year plotting her revenge and we’ll all be gone to NYC by the time she is even done!”

 

That helped lighten the mood a bit and had everyone laughing and agreeing that they want to do the same when it comes to Camille.

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

Jace had been waiting all day for school to be over, he wanted to wait to talk with Sebastian until after in case things got physical.

 

Jace had promised Alec last night, that they would do this together, and although he wanted to keep his brother out of it, he knew how mad he would be if Jace treated him differently. Why should Alec not be able to defend his sister as much as Jace wanted too.

 

Alec met up with him at his locker after his last class. “You ready buddy? I think he usually hangs on the quad before leaving,” Jace said.

 

_Yea let’s go_ , Alec replied.

 

Now that Alec was involved, Jace was going to try really hard not to turn things into a fight. Jace and Alec had always been rough with each other, so they had plenty of experience fighting, they enjoyed sparing at the gym. Jace knew Alec could hold his own, he was over six feet tall and was pretty quick, but Jace also always wanted to protect his brother from harm.

 

Jace also knew that if they did get into a fight, their parents were going to kill the both of them. His mom was already mad at Alec, he didn’t want to add fuel to the fire, so Jace was going to try and keep his cool as much as he could.

 

They found Sebastian standing around in a circle with one of his friends. Jace recognized Jordan Kyle from his gym class and knew the guy was a solid athlete himself.

 

“Hey Sebastian, can we talk you for a minute? Alone?” Jace asked.

 

Jace watched as his eyes narrowed. “Who is we when you come over with your mute brother?” Sebastian replied nastily. “Whatever you need to say, you can say in front of Jordan.”

 

Sebastian was already trying to push Jace’s buttons by teasing Alec. Jace felt Alec nudge his arm.

 

_Don’t let him get to you. Just ask him straight up. If he really did try and hurt Izzy, then he’s a piece of shit that needs to be dealt with anyway_ , Alec signed.

 

Sebastian and Jordan laughed at Alec’s signing, they were imitating him by swirling their hands around.

 

“Cut the shit, Verlac! What did you do to my sister on Friday? Did you put something in her drink?” Jace asked with clenched fists.

 

Sebastian grinned, “Maybe I did and maybe I didn’t, believe me Jace, I would have had her screaming my name that night either way, and that little slut would have loved it.”

 

Jace saw black, now he was livid, Sebastian was clearly a sociopath, he looked as if he was getting pleasure from watching them try and defend their sister as he just spat back at them.

 

Jace definitely threw the first punch, that much he can remember. It landed square on Sebastian’s jaw causing him to stumble backward. It took him a second to recuperate but then he was lunging towards Jace with just as much ferocity.

 

Jace felt something hard make contact with his left eye but he had so much adrenaline that he didn’t even feel it much.

 

Jace saw Jordan from the corner of his eye, rushing towards him, but Alec pushed Jordan back and punched him right in the face.

 

The four boys were all fighting pretty hard, Jace wasn’t sure when it had happened but at some point, he had started fighting Jordan and Alec was fighting Sebastian. Although it was only a couple of minutes, Jace was starting to get tired, but he tried his best to push through it.

 

And that is when something happened that Jace swears he was watching in slow motion. Even though he was busy rolling around on the ground with Jordan, Jace saw it happen as clear as day.

 

Sebastian had hit Alec hard, so hard that Alec fell back onto his stomach and looked as if he was in a daze.  Before Alec could regain his strength, Sebastian walked over and crouched down by Alec’s face.

 

“This is for Camille,” Sebastian whispered. He then stood up and lifted his leg as high as he could and brought his heavy combat boot down straight onto Alec’s right hand.

 

Everyone involved heard the awful crunch sound it made.

 

Jace watched helplessly from his position with Jordan next to his brother. He knew Alec’s hand was broken, he screamed for his brother, so loud that they were finally noticed by people and were quickly broken up from fighting.

 

Jace rushed to his brother’s side on the ground. “Alec! Alec! Hang on man, I’m going to get you help!”

 

Alec’s hand was already swelling and turning purple. If it were his own hand it wouldn’t have been a big deal to him, but Alec’s hands were his voice. Jace knew his brother would be devastated when he learned he wouldn’t be able to communicate.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

 

Magnus and Raphael were driving home from school when he got the call from Izzy. “WHAT, OH MY GOD! How did this happen? Why didn’t you guys tell me that they were going to confront him? I would have told them that it was a stupid and dangerous idea! Where is he now?”

 

Raphael was nudging his friend trying to figure out what was happening, but he was off his phone pretty quickly. “Can you take me to Idris Memorial Hospital? Please, Raph.”

 

“Of course I will, but what the hell is going on Magnus?” Raphael answered.

 

Magnus repeated most of the conversation he had just had with Izzy, his voice shook when he explained the last part about Alec getting injured.

 

Things were eerily quiet in the car once Magnus was done explaining. “Wait, so he like stomped and crushed Alec’s hand, that’s awful,” Raph muttered, he didn’t really know what to say about such an unspeakable act of violence.

 

Magnus sighed, “This is all my fault Raph, if I had just talked to Camille today after school and not chickened out then maybe she would have called off Sebastian!”

 

Raphael pulled over on the road, “Hey, listen to me. This is not your fault. It sounds like Jace and Alec were adamant about defending their sister no matter what, and honestly, I can’t really blame them. Things went so horribly because Sebastian is an evil human being.”

 

Magnus buried his face in his hands, “Maybe your right, but please drive, I need to see him and make sure he is okay.”

 

Raphael just nodded and drove as quickly as he could towards the hospital.

 

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

 

Alec hated hospitals so much, all they did was remind him of when he was sick. His hand was throbbing in pain, it almost felt as if it was in sync with the heart monitor alarming next to him.

 

Jace rushed back in behind the curtain, “Here, I found more pillows, you need to elevate it as much as possible.”

 

Alec signed a small thank you using his left hand, luckily at least that one only required the use of one hand and not both. He was annoyed, thank you was an expression that was supposed to be signed using your dominant hand and now he couldn’t even do that properly.

 

Jace could tell his brother was getting upset, “Hey, try and keep it together, we will figure this all out together. Let’s just figure out how bad the damage is and how to explain this all to mom and dad when they get here, okay?”

 

Alec gave a small nod in return and tried to wait patiently for the doctor to come back with his x-ray. He had refused pain medication when he first got here because he didn’t want it to make him all groggy, he was starting to regret that decision.

 

He had just shut his eyes to try and rest when the curtain flew open, his breath paused when he realized who it was. Without even thinking he pushed his left hand out towards him so that he would grab hold of it.

 

Magnus was more than okay with taking a hold of Alec’s hand, “Hi darling, oh my goodness, look at your hand Alexander! How could you go after Sebastian without telling me!” He took a deep breath in, “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to panic, how are you holding up?”

 

Alec nodded and gave an unconvincing smile back.

 

Jace interjected, “He isn’t signing very much right now, I think he’s upset that he can’t do a lot of it with just the one hand.”

 

Magnus knew Alec probably had a million things running through his head right now, “It’s all going to be okay, I’ll be here for you no matter what.”

 

Alec felt so lucky to have Magnus and Jace by his side just then, he gave Magnus’s hand a squeeze and then shut his eyes again to try and deal with the pain. But after a few minutes, he was interrupted by the sound of the curtain again.

 

“Alec, I’m Dr. Nelson, one of the orthopedic specialists. Your right hand is fractured in several places, but luckily, in all three spots the damage is fairly contained. I will need to reduce your hand so that the bones are back into alignment but you will not need surgery. You’ll be in a cast for 8 weeks and then do some physical therapy afterward so your hand goes back to the strength that it was,” the man explained.

 

Magnus and Jace watched as Alec gave a small nod in return. Magnus had a ton of questions so he could only assume Alec did as well.

 

“Um, doctor? What is reducing? And when can he go home? Will is hand ever be the same, even with the strength training?” Magnus rattled on.

 

The doctor put his hand up indicating he need a pause from the assault of questions, “The reducing I can do here in the E.R., we’ll give you some sedation so you won’t feel anything, but you will need to stay the night in the hospital so we can monitor for something called Compartment Syndrome which is when the swelling gets to be too severe and cause damage. And if you are diligent with your PT exercises, then you will definitely gain back all your hand function.”

 

The doctor left shortly to get ready for the procedure. Magnus was so stressed and nervous, he didn’t like the sound of any of this, Compartment what?

 

“Alexander, I’m freaking out a bit here. Are you okay with all of this? Should we take you to like the best orthopedic doctor in the city instead?” Magnus said.

 

Alec gave Magnus a reassuring smile, he lifted Magnus’s hand and gave him a small kiss on the back of the hand to try and comfort him. It was a perfect moment between them, well at least it would have been if Jace hadn’t been there.

 

“Aw, now aren’t you two just adorable,” Jace said condescendingly, “If you don’t mind Magnus, maybe try not to freak out so much seeing as you’re not the one lying in a hospital bed right now!”

 

Magnus knew Jace was right, he needed to keep his shit together. “I’m sorry, your right, I just hate seeing you like this!”

 

Alec reached for his phone on the table next to him.

 

**Believe me Magnus, I rather not be here. But you being here is already helping so much. I’m glad I don’t need surgery, and 8 weeks is shorter than I expected so don’t worry, I’m really going to be okay.**

Magnus was so thankful that Alec was trying to look at the positive side of things. If Alec could keep his spirits up, then so could Magnus.

 

Magnus could tell that Alec was having discomfort so he tried the only thing he could think of which was to distract him, so for the next 30 minutes, he told them all about his crazy life in the city and the happy memories he had with the foster kids he lived with. It seemed to be working because Alec was smiling and shaking his head at all the quirky stories up until the doctor came back in.

 

Magnus and Jace were told to hang out in the waiting room until the procedure was over, then they would move Alec up to his room for the night to rest and they could visit with him there.

 

Magnus was pacing back and forth in front of the chairs in the waiting area, the minutes seemed to be going slower than usual. He knew it hadn’t actually been that long but he was still getting more anxious.

 

“God, can you please sit down! You’re making my head spin,” Jace shouted. “Actually Magnus, and I know you’re not going to want to hear this but you should probably go, my parents are going to walk through that door any moment and it’s probably going to go pretty badly if you are here.”

 

Magnus had no intention of leaving, he told Alec he would be there for him and he was not about to break his promise. “Well, that is too bad for them because I’m not leaving, not until Alexander asks me too.”

 

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

 

Maryse Lightwood was at the station on a double shift when she got the call. At first, she thought her daughter was making a bad joke but she quickly realized that it was real.

 

She had to ask the chief to pull Robert from duty for the day so that they could both head down to the hospital where Alec was taken. Maryse asked Izzy to pick up Max from school and stay with him at home until they got back.

 

Maryse was relieved when she finally saw Robert’s patrol car pulling up to the station, “Robert did they tell you what was going on? Or just that I needed you,” she asked.

 

“No, they told me… come on let’s get to the hospital, they said we can take the cruiser so that we can use the sirens to get there quicker,” Robert replied to his frightened wife.

 

Maryse was beside herself in the car on the way to the hospital, “I just don’t understand why this is happening, I mean Alec never caused any trouble in the city and now he’s getting in fights with Jace and sneaking out. Maybe this move was a mistake, maybe he doesn’t adapt to change well.”

 

Robert was doing his best to try and calm her but he knew that Alec would really be the only one that could help her right now.

 

The nurse at the desk said that he was up on the 5th floor, he had been admitted for the night for observation. Maryse’s whole body was shaking on the elevator ride up, she needed to see that her son was okay.

 

She was taken aback by what she saw when she finally got to her son’s hospital room, “What the hell are you doing here? Did you have something to do with this happening to my son?” She yelled when she saw Magnus in the chair next to the bed.

 

“Alec, you told me you’d stay away from this boy! Look what is happening, first, you sneak out, get drunk and now you are fighting and severely injuring yourself in the process of your self-destruction!”

 

Before Alec could even attempt to communicate back with either modified signing or his texting app the whole room erupted in arguing. Jace was defending Magnus’s presence, Maryse was yelling at Magnus and Robert was yelling at everyone about the yelling.

 

Alec couldn’t take it anymore and because he could yell for all of them to shut up he decided on another way.

 

The room got silent when Alec threw the water pitcher across the room causing a loud noise and a splash. They all stopped and looked at him with wide eyes.

 

Alec signed as best he could, _I need mom, and mom only, please wait outside_.

 

The group nodded and left the room with their heads down. They knew they shouldn’t have caused such chaos when they should have been focused on Alec.

 

Once they were alone, Alec got out his phone. He had decided that he has had enough, his mother needed to change her way of thinking and he wasn’t going to be truly happy unless he tried to change her mind. But in order to do that, he needed to tell her everything, no matter the consequences.

 

**Look mom, I know you are angry right now, but everything is a lot more complicated than you know. And that is partly my fault because I wanted to bend the truth to try and spare Izzy, but I think you deserve to know the full story and why I ended up in the hospital. But I need you to be patient and LISTEN, don’t jump to conclusions or make judgments prematurely, and obviously the story will take a while to type of so please again just be patient.**

Maryse came over and sat down next to her son, “Of course I will Alec, I always want you to tell me the truth. Take your time.” Maryse didn’t understand yet what Alec meant about the full story and she didn’t like being lied to and manipulated by her children.

 

But she couldn’t really be angry with them, she was more upset that they felt like they needed to lie to her. She knew she wasn’t the warmest mother but she always thought her children knew that she cared for them immensely.

 

It took Alec a while to write out everything that had happened, he started with Friday night before the party and went from there. He showed his mother in sections so that she wouldn’t be overwhelmed reading the whole thing at once.

 

Alec was saddened as his mother gasped and choked at a lot of what he was telling her. Maryse had tears in her eyes, “I’m so sorry Alec, I completely got the wrong idea about the other night, I can’t believe Izzy was drugged, and the coughing and choking, you should have told me, it could be a sign of reoccurrence!”

 

**Hey, I’m okay and Izzy is okay, but do you understand now that we needed to confront him, and also that Magnus isn’t the enemy. In fact, things would have been ten times worse if he wasn’t there.**

Maryse nodded her head, “I know you and Jace thought you had to do it but clearly you didn’t think about the consequences that it would have. And yes, I’m realizing that I may have misjudged your friend, I was just so angry that night to see you so vulnerable like that.”

 

Alec took his phone again and carefully typed out another message to his mother. A message that he was still apprehensive of writing.

 

**I like Magnus, like as a boyfriend.**

Alec watched as his mother’s eyes widened in surprise at what was written. She didn’t respond for what seemed like forever to him.

 

“I…um…I don’t really know what to say Alec. I never thought you… that you…” Maryse rambled.

 

Alec was starting to feel overwhelmed, maybe he shouldn’t have told his mom anything, maybe this was all a big mistake.

 

“But I’m so thankful that you feel you could tell me, I’ll always love you Alec,” Maryse said warmly.

 

Alec smiled back at her with tears in his eyes.

 

“Well, we should come up with a plan to tell your father, now don’t be nervous Alec, I think he’ll be fine with it,” Maryse continued.

 

Alec’s eyes fell, he didn’t want to make his mother sad but he felt he needed to be honest. _Dad knows_ , he signed.

 

Maryse looked upset, “Oh he does. And your siblings?” she asked.

 

Alec nodded.

 

“And Magnus?” she continued.

 

Again Alec nodded.

 

She was quiet for a few seconds after that before speaking, “Well I suppose this is my own fault, I can only assume you were afraid to tell me because of the way I’ve been acting. I can’t tell you how much regret I am feeling at this moment Alec,” Maryse explained.

 

Alec needed to let his mother know how much he loved her. _Hey, I’m telling you now. The order of it all doesn’t mean anything. I love you_ , he signed slowly.

 

She smiled back, “I love you too son.” Maryse stood and headed towards the door, “Let me go get dad and Jace… and Magnus. I’ll be right back.”

 

Alec was glad he told his mother the truth. He could only hope that his mom would try and be more open and understanding now to him trying new things and experiences.

 

He also needed her to get used to having Magnus around because his feelings seemed to grow every second they were together.

 

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

 

It had been a couple days since the fight, Alec was sitting in his room working on an English assignment as best he could. It was slow-going typing out an essay with one hand in a cast.

 

Alec and Jace had been suspended for fighting on school grounds for the remainder of the week. Alec knew there would be some consequences for them, but he needed a few days anyway to collect himself before going back to school so he didn’t really mind.

 

The news of what Sebastian had done quickly circulated through the school. There was even a video of it from some girl’s cell phone. She handed it into the principal’s office, so they had the brutality of Sebastian’s fighting on record. After the video surfaced, Principal Garroway and the school board decided that he should be expelled after they deemed it a hate crime.

 

Alec was more than glad to have Sebastian out of all their lives, Magnus told him that he heard that he went to go live with his Dad in some boring country town called Edom in New Jersey.     

 

Alec’s mom was definitely trying harder these last few days to show him that she was sorry for her behavior. But Alec knew that what he was going to ask for today was the real test. Alec came downstairs to find his mom in the kitchen.

 

Alec handed his mom the phone apprehensively,

 

**Mom, can Magnus come over after he is done with school today? He was going to bring a friend with him for me to meet and then we were all going to watch a movie later when Simon and Clary come over to hang with Izzy and Jace.**

 

“That would be fine Alec, I think it’s great that you’ll be hanging with all your friends tonight,” she replied with a smile.

 

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

 

Alec practically ran to the door when he finally heard the bell go off. When he finally saw Magnus he couldn’t help but think how gorgeous he looked today. But he didn’t have too much time to stare because he was standing with someone next to him. The cute girl next to him had short curly hair and a great smile.

 

Magnus gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked in towards the living room. “Alexander, this is Maia, I’ve been meaning to introduce you two last week at school,” he said.

 

Alec thought for a moment, he had heard that name before, but it finally came to him, so he grabbed his phone.

 

**Like Simon’s Maia?**

The girl laughed when she saw that, “Ew! no, not Simon’s Maia, I am Simon’s friend but that would never happen. Besides he can’t shut up about your sister so I think he’s gonna be taken soon anyway.”

 

Alec could already tell he was going to like this girl. He wasn’t really sure why Magnus was so adamant that they meet today though.

 

“I…um… Magnus told me about what happened to your hand. I’m really sorry, but he also told me that you’ve been hesitant with your signing lately. I’ve loved teaching ASL ever since I started the club at school, I’d be happy to show you some modifications that would work for some of the two-handed gestures. I really think you’ll be able to get most things across with one-hand if you don’t mind getting a little creative,” Maia suggested.

 

Alec smiled inside, now he knew why Magnus wanted to introduce them so bad _. I would love that_ , Alec signed back.

 

“Great, awesome!” Maia replied.

 

And that’s how the three of them spent the rest of the afternoon. They had all been signing back and forth for hours until his siblings and friends had gotten there for a movie night. Alec insisted that Maia pick the first movie for helping him today and then Jace insisted on picking the one after that when he decided the first one was too girlie for him.

 

Alec really couldn’t be happier, but the moment that really made him smile was when his mother came in to announce she was heading to bed. Alec had been leaning against Magnus on the couch with their hands intertwined and she had clearly seen it.

 

“Goodnight everyone, don’t stay up too late,” Maryse announced. But before she left, she turned towards Magnus, “I’d love it if you came to dinner on Sunday here, that is if you don’t already have plans.” She asked.

 

“I’d love to Mrs. Lightwood, thank you for inviting me,” Magnus responded.

 

Alec was elated, he couldn’t believe his mother had invited Magnus for dinner. He was so happy to see that his mother was getting on board with having him in their lives.

 

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

 

Magnus couldn’t remember a time when he was happier, Alec was changing him for the better and he’d only known him for a few weeks and already he couldn’t picture life without him.

 

Before Alec came along, Magnus would sometimes miss aspects of his old life, he’d miss the partying and carefree lifestyle that he followed. But he also knew it was a life without meaning and would have likely got him closer to becoming a drunk like his father, something that he never wanted to happen.

 

When Cat and Rag had sat him down at the end of the last school year and told him he was following a dangerous path, it took him a while to accept their help. He didn’t even want to imagine what he would still be like if he never got sober, he knew Alec would have hated the person that he was.

 

Magnus was having a fabulous week at school. After the incident with Alec, and Sebastian’s expulsion, the student body decided that they had enough of Camille and her crew. She was called out at lunch in front of the whole school by another girl she was messing with.

 

Magnus knew Camille had been defeated this time but worried that she would likely come back with a vengeance, she wasn’t one to give up, but Magnus would take any victory against Camille that he could.

 

He was a little nervous about today because he was going to finally do what he has been wanting to do. He was going to ask Alec out on a date this weekend.

 

Luckily, the dinner at his house last Sunday had gone very well. His mom tried her best to be very welcoming and they actually ended up having a nice conversation. Magnus was just happy to be getting to know Alec’s family better.

 

Magnus really liked Alec’s dad, he was a man of few words, but he seemed to want the best for his children and was very accepting of him. Robert was also the only one to actually talk about Alec and Magnus as if they meant something to each other. He didn’t shy away from it just because it was new conversation for the family, Magnus could tell that Maryse was still adjusting to things, but that she was trying.

 

When Magnus and Raphael pulled up to the school, he was happy to see that Alec was waiting for him in their spot on the quad. That whole week they had met each other every morning so that they could spend a few minutes together before classes.

 

Alec’s eyes widened as Magnus walked forward, he had equally as big of a smile on his face as he did. “Hi darling, did you sleep well?”

 

Alec nodded before signing back, _Yea I did. I dreamt about you so it was a given that’d I’d sleep well._

 

Magnus loved how flirty Alec would get sometimes, almost without even knowing it.

 

Magnus had no trouble at all understanding what Alec signed to him. He had been doing so well with modifying his signing with his broken hand. He was so glad that he thought to get Maia involved, she was always open to helping others.

 

“I think you actually just succeeded in making me blush, Alexander,” Magnus teased.

 

Magnus knew he probably didn’t need to be so nervous, but he still was. Alec had always shown how much he cares for Magnus just as much as he does for him. Magnus took a deep breath and took a hold of Alec’s hand.

 

“Hey, do you want to go out on a date with me this weekend? Saturday night?” he murmured hesitantly.

 

As soon as the words finished from his mouth, he realized he didn’t need to be worried at all. Alec was already nodding and squeezing Magnus’s hand reassuringly.

 

_I would love to_ , he replied.

 

“Do you think your parents are going to be okay with it? Your mom? We’d go somewhere local so you wouldn’t be far from them,” Magnus asked.

 

Alec seemed to think for a moment, _I think she would be. She’s been so different lately, but in a good way._

“I hope so darling, let me know if she wants to talk to me or anything, okay?” Magnus replied. The two spent another moment together before the bell rang and they needed to separate for class.

 

Magnus tried to concentrate on the day ahead but he was so eager to hear if Alec was able to go out with him tomorrow that it made it difficult.

 

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

 

Alec was playing outside with Max on Saturday morning when his mom got home from her overnight shift. He had forgotten that she worked that shift yesterday so he wasn’t able to talk to her about tonight yet.

 

His mom was always exhausted after working overnights and she was usually pretty cranky too so he really hoped that this would go well.

 

“Hey, Hey! Pay attention, or the ball is gonna hit you in the head!” Max was shouting at him.

 

_Sorry buddy_ , Alec signed.  He was trying to be a good sport and play catch with his brother but it was a bit tough when you couldn’t use your throwing hand. Luckily, Max was young enough where the throwing was still pretty relaxed.

 

_Actually Max, I’m sorry, but I need to go inside and talk to mom before she goes to bed. Do you want to watch cartoons? I’ll join you when I’m finished_ , he explained.

 

“Okay!” Max replied as he rushed inside.

 

Maryse was at the table, she was rubbing her eyes, she was trying to read the mail before she slept but was clearly very tired.

_Hey mom, how was work?_ Alec started out with as he took a seat across from her.

 

“It was fine, it’s always a long shift overnight,” she replied.

_I wanted to talk to you about something, I know you need to go to bed so I don’t want to keep you so I’ll just go ahead and ask. Can I go out tonight? With Magnus, he asked me on a date_ , Alec signed slowly to make sure his mom understood fully in her exhausted state.

 

Maryse sighed, “I’m exhausted honey, let’s talk about this when I get up this afternoon,” she said as she went to get up and leave for her bedroom.

 

But Alec was not okay with waiting until this afternoon, he raced in front of her and stopped her at the bottom of the stairs.

 

_Please mom, don’t make me wait. I really want to go, nothing is going to go wrong, we’ll be in town and just please, please can I go_ , Alec begged.

 

“Alec, there has been so much change with you lately, I’m not used to you going anywhere yourself. Can’t Jace go with you?” she asked.

 

Alec was getting frustrated now, she just wasn’t getting it. _How is it a date if my brother is there watching us? Did I ever go to supervise Jace or Izzy on all the dates that they have been on?_ He signed a little more frantically.

 

Maryse’s eyes softened, “I suppose you are right, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to treat you differently than them. You can go tonight, but I’ll need the information on where you will be.”

 

_Yes, I promise I’ll get you the information on exactly where I’m going_ , Alec replied excitedly.

 

Alec ran up the stairs to his room to grab his phone.

 

**Alec: I can go! She just wants to know where we will be.**

**Magnus: That is exactly what I was hoping to wake up to this morning! Just not so early, you do realize it is only 7 am? Don’t you sleep in on weekends?**

**Alec: I’m so sorry Magnus, I didn’t mean to wake you up. I get up early on for Max, he’s an early riser. We always spend Saturday mornings together.**

**Magnus: You don’t ever have to apologize for waking me, I’d be up at the crack of dawn for you darling. Tell Max I said hi! I’ll shoot you a text with the details of the restaurant in a little bit.**

Alec was more than excited, he didn’t know how he was going to make it through the whole day. He went back downstairs to join Max in the living room, _Hey, do you want pancakes this morning?_ He asked.

 

“Yea! Yea!” Max shouted from the couch. Alec quickly put his finger up to his lips, _remember to be quiet though, mom is sleeping_.

 

Alec was never surprised when the smell of his breakfast woke his other siblings. Just as the pancakes were finishing up, Izzy and Jace made their way to the table.

 

_Good morning_ , he signed to them both.

 

“Good morning. Wow, you seem extra peppy today,” Jace teased.

 

Max decided to spill the news himself, “He’s excited because he’s going out on a date tonight with Maxnus,”

 

Alec looked over shocked at his little brother.

 

“Yea, I might have snuck into the kitchen to listen to you and mom this morning,” Max announced proudly.

 

“Oh my god, no way!” Izzy shouted as she jumped up and down.

 

_Mom is sleeping, stop yelling_ , Alec reminded them again.

 

“That’s great man, I’m so happy for you,” Jace said in a much more hushed tone.

 

_Thanks, I’m really excited, but also nervous. I’ve never been on a date. What’s it like?_ He asked his brother, whom he knew had a lot of experience with dating.

 

Jace giggled, “I’m sure my kind of dating will be a lot different than what you and Magnus have. I really didn’t date Alec, more just hooked up. What you and Magnus have is special. I like to think that Clary and I might have that someday too.”

 

“Alec, just be yourself. Magnus likes you for who you are, so just be you,” Izzy interjected.

 

_Okay, I will be. Will you help me pick out what to wear?_ Alec asked, knowing that his sister would be more than happy to.

 

“Of course!” she beamed as she raced back upstairs to start looking through Alec’s closet.

 

After a few moments, Izzy called him from his room, “Alec? Come here please!”

 

_Stop yelling. Mom is sleeping_. How many times did Alec need to sign it before his siblings started to listen to him?

 

“I’m sorry! I keep forgetting, I’m just so excited for you. But Alec, we need to talk about this closet. You need new clothes. I’m so sick of picking out your outfits because I can only come up with the same ones! We need to go shopping,” Izzy explained.

 

Alec knew his wardrobe was lacking, he never went shopping himself and would just wear what Izzy or his mom bought for him on birthdays and other holidays each year.

_Fine Iz, I’ll let you take me shopping_ , Alec signed.

 

Izzy went to screech again in excitement but quickly remembered she needed to be quiet, “Yay, we’ll go soon, okay? I can’t wait to get you some new stuff. Magnus can come with us too, trust me, he’ll love it!”

 

Alec knew that shopping wouldn’t be that bad, especially if Magnus came with them. Luckily, Magnus still hadn’t seen all of Alec’s outfits yet so what Izzy picked out was old for her but was still new to him.

 

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

 

Magnus had the best kind of nerves as he drove over to Alec’s house. He had been wanting to take Alec out for a while now, and it was finally happening.

 

They would finally have the time to explore their feelings for each other without the interruptions of school or Alec’s family.

 

After he knocked on the door, he was a little nervous to see that it was his mom who answered. “Hi, Mrs. Lightwood. How are you?”

 

“Magnus, I thought on Sunday I reminded you to call me Maryse. Come on in, Alec will be down in a second. I think Izzy is torturing him with hair products at the moment,” she replied.

 

Magnus giggled, he could picture the siblings in his mind upstairs. “Thanks, Maryse.” He waited in the kitchen, luckily Max was there to occupy him, so Magnus picked up a crayon to start drawing with him.

 

He heard his footsteps on the stairs, his heart skipped a beat when he saw Alec appear. He looked incredible, his outfit was amazing, it showed his muscles off in all the right places.

 

“You look incredible,” Magnus said, he stood up and took a hold of Alec’s hand.

 

“Have fun you two. Alec, be safe and keep your phone close at all times. And text me if you go anywhere other than the restaurant and the concert, okay?” Maryse instructed.

 

Alec nodded, but Magnus could tell he was just as eager to leave as he was because Alec was already guiding him towards the door.

 

Magnus chose a restaurant close to the park where the concert was later that night. They were quickly seated in a booth in the back, luckily it seemed very private.

 

“So Alec, what kind of food do you like? They have a little bit of everything here,” Magnus said.

 

_I like a lot of things. I have to admit though, I don’t think I’ve experienced a lot of types of foods yet. Izzy called me meat and potatoes once_ , Alec signed back.

 

Well, we’ll just have to expand your horizons. I loved all the different food options in the city, someday I will take you to the best places I’ve eaten so far.” Magnus replied. He knew Alec didn’t go out a lot so it was likely that he never got to experience everything NYC had to offer.

 

_I’d love that. I’m open to trying new things_ , Alec replied.

 

Their date was going amazing so far, they were having so much fun at dinner. The conversation was flowing perfectly and they were even playing a game of footsie under the table.

 

_Tell me more about your guardians? I feel like you know everything about my family but I don’t know anything about yours_ , Alec signed slowly.

 

“Cat and Rag, well they are practically my saviors. I don’t really know where I would have ended up if they didn’t decide to take me in. We were all pretty inseparable as kids. In foster care, kids definitely end up supporting each other a lot more than the foster parents you are placed with. In my experience, it was a lot of people just looking for extra money, so they had as many kids as possible. When Cat and Rag aged out of the system, I ran away almost every weekend to their apartment in New York. So when they were finally old enough, they applied for guardianship,” Magnus explained.

 

Magnus was more than happy to tell Alec about his past. He wanted him to know everything about him, the good and the bad. But this was Alec’s first date in life so he was determined to keep things light so he didn’t get into any further details.

_They sound like incredible people. I would like to meet them, I mean, if it’s okay with you?_ Alec replied.

 

“I would love that Alexander, you’ll find they may know a bit about you already though, I talk about you a lot,” Magnus admitted embarrassingly.

 

Alec smiled, _I talk about you a lot too, but Izzy and Jace seem cool with it. I’ve listened to them gush about people for years so it’s nice to be in the other position for once._

 

“We should finish up so we can hear some of the music at the park. They play until pretty late but I plan to have you home well before that. I will not have your mom accusing me of being a bad influence again,” Magnus teased.

 

When the check came, Magnus insisted on paying. Alec had tried to put cash in but Magnus quickly made him put his wallet away. “Nonsense, Alexander. I am taking you out tonight.”

 

_Thank you Magnus, this has already been the best_ , Alec replied.

 

“And there is more to come, my dear. We just need to stop at the car before we walk over and grab the blanket or else we’ll be sitting on the cold ground as we listen,” Magnus said as he stood and took a hold of Alec’s hand.

 

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

 

Alec never wanted this night to end, he was having the best time with Magnus. Every second they spent together his feelings were growing stronger.

 

They made their way over to the park, Alec could hear the music getting closer and closer. It sounded beautiful, Magnus had said it was a band that his friend Raphael was in and that they practiced in the park almost every Saturday when the weather was nice.

 

“How about over here, darling?” Magnus asked pointing towards a large tree. Alec nodded in agreement, Magnus laid the blanket out and sat down with his back propped up on the tree trunk.

 

Alec’s heart was beating hard in his chest. He wanted his first kiss tonight and he had been wanting to kiss Magnus for days now, ever since he was interrupted that first Friday night at his house.

 

So Alec leaned in close next to Magnus and grabbed a hold of his hand again. He looked over at Magnus trying to figure out if the moment was right.

 

“Why are you staring? Do I have something on my face,” Magnus asked quickly.

 

Alec shook his head, _No, No, nothing, I promise_ , he signed back as he panicked. Now he was acting weird and Magnus could tell.

 

_I was thinking about our almost kiss, and wanted to try it again_ , Alec explained.

 

“Then kiss me, Alexander. I’ve thought a lot about it too,” Magnus assured him.

 

Although he didn’t really know what he was doing, he leaned his head forward toward Magnus’s. He paused for a moment before placing his lips to his.

 

Magnus’s lips were so soft and smooth. Once they were connected, Magnus started to move ever so slightly causing a million different sensations to run through Alec’s whole body.

 

Alec was pleasantly surprised when Magnus wrapped his arm around Alec’s waist pulling them even closer together, he wasn’t sure what he should do with his arms so he kept them by his side.

 

Magnus stopped for a minute to smile before picking up Alec’s hand and placing it on his own back. “You can touch me,” he said reassuringly.

 

Alec moved in to capture his lips once again, and without realizing it he was moving his hand freely around Magnus’s back and towards his side. Kissing Magnus felt incredible, it felt so right that Alec couldn’t believe that he had ever lived so long without Magnus in his life.

 

He couldn’t get enough of Magnus’s lips, as they listened to the music in the background, they would often get lost in sharing kisses instead of watching the band.

 

Before the night ended, Alec wanted to make one thing clear to Magnus, and that was how much he cared for him.

 

_Magnus, this night has been amazing. When I’m with you, I feel like I’m finally complete. And I’m sorry if that’s weird for you, But I thought you should know_ , Alec signed slowly.

 

Magnus reached up and placed his hand warmly on Alec’s cheek, “It’s not weird at all. You’ve unlocked something in me and it’s made me want to be the best version of myself,” he replied, pausing for a moment before continuing.

 

“But I want to live that life with you. Will you be my boyfriend?” Magnus finished saying.

 

Alec was too happy to even sign anything in reply, he just pushed his lips forward once again. This kiss was faster and sloppier than the others but it felt like it had even more passion.

 

Alec’s eyes went wide when he felt Magnus slip his tongue into his mouth, he welcomed the new sensation and mirrored his boyfriend’s movements as best he could. After a while they were both gasping for air.

 

“I’ll take that as a yes?” Magnus teased.

 

Alec nodded with a big smile, _I would love to be your boyfriend_ , he signed.

 

Alec was shaking inside, he was able to hold it in, but he almost started tearing up, it was an amazing moment for him just then.

 

He had never actually signed the word “boyfriend” before in regards to himself. He wasn’t sure if he would ever get to have this with anyone and now he was with someone more special than he could ever imagine.

 

They spent too long at the end of the night in the Lightwood’s driveway sharing warm kisses. Alec wanted this night to last as long as it possibly could.

 

Luckily, Magnus was thinking clearly for both of them. “Darling, it’s time to say good night. I’ll text you tomorrow morning, okay?”

 

Alec knew he was right, it was close to 10 P.M. and they had both promised his mom that he’d be home before then. He leaned over for one more small kiss and then used all the willpower he had to head into the house and away from Magnus.

 

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

 

Magnus was so incredibly happy on his ride home, he couldn’t believe how amazing their night was.

 

He tried calling Raphael, hoping that he was on a break, he needed someone to talk to about all of this. After a few rings, his friend finally picked up.

**Raphael: Hey, Magnus. I was wondering when you were gonna call. Did you enjoy the show?**

**Magnus: Yes, you were incredible Raph as usual!**

**Raphael: You’re full of shit Magnus! You were way to busy down Alec’s throat to be listening to us. Don’t think I didn’t see you two in the corner. But, I’m also happy for you man, things seem to be going well.**

**Magnus: Oh god, don’t tell Alexander that you saw us like that when you finally meet him. I don’t want him to feel embarrassed. I’m sorry if we were distracting, but we couldn’t help ourselves! He’s my boyfriend now, so it probably won’t be the last time we’ll come see you play either.**

**Raphael: I’ll try my best to get used to it. You know I’ve never been into the cutesy couple thing. I got to go though, we’re starting up again!**

**Magnus: Okay, call me tomorrow so we can hang.**

Magnus practically ran into the house as fast as he could, he couldn’t wait to tell Cat and Rag all about his night.

 

He found them sitting in the living room together cuddling close to each other, “It was the perfect date! And I have a boyfriend now, Alexander is incredible. I can’t wait for you guys to meet him!” Magnus went on and on about the night for a while.

 

But he finally realized that they weren’t as excited as he thought they’d be. Usually, Cat would be just as excited as Magnus about these things and Ragnor would have a lot more interruptions and questions for him. In fact, they almost had worried expressions on their faces.

 

“Whoa, what is happening with you two? Why do you look so nervous?” Magnus asked as he sat down next to them.

 

They looked at each other for a moment before Ragnor scooted forward on the couch, “Magnus we need to tell you something. But you need to try and stay calm and know that we will deal with this as a family.”

 

“You’re scaring me Rag, what the hell is going on?” Magnus said.

 

Catarina took her phone out of her pocket, “I think we should just let him listen to the message, we need to just be straight with him Ragnor.”

 

She went to her voicemail and put it on speaker:

 

**This is an automated voice message for Catarina Loss. You have requested updates on the following inmate- Asmodeous Bane. This inmate has recently been released on parole in the New York State area. For any further inquiries, please call the case manager assigned to you. Goodbye.**

Magnus felt the air escaping from his lungs, his breaths were getting shorter and quicker. How was this happening, he had just had one of the best nights of his life and he almost thought that this had been some awful joke.

 

“Magnus calm down, try and breath slowly,” Catarina instructed as she came towards him and placed her hand on his back.

 

“We can call the case manager tomorrow and figure out what is going on Magnus. We will be there with you through this, okay? You aren’t alone, and he can’t hurt you anymore,” Ragnor said slowly.

 

Magnus nodded in silence, but inside he was screaming, he always knew this was possible but he still didn’t expect it to be happening. The three of them ended up sleeping together in the living room that night, Magnus did not want to be alone right now.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Posting again tomorrow as well :)

Chapter 10

 

Jace had gone out again with Clary on Saturday. And ended up staying over at her house again, so he wasn’t able to see Alec after his date with Magnus. Her mom usually stayed at her boyfriend’s house on the weekends, now that Clary was older, and Jace was damn happy about that.

 

He still remembers the shock of learning that Mrs. Fairchild was dating his principal Mr. Garroway, but Clary had sworn him to secrecy about this fact. They had been dating for a while but for Clary’s sake at school, they kept it quiet. Clary said that Luke was a really nice guy and that she’d be happy if he joined their family someday.

 

Jace loved spending time with Clary and just staying up all night with her. He was telling her things that really only his brother knew, he never thought he would open up to anybody else in his life until he met her.

 

On Sunday morning, he tried to quietly roll out of bed so he wouldn’t wake her. Unfortunately, as soon as he left her warm embrace he heard her groan in annoyance.

 

“Ugh, it’s too early to be up. Come back to bed, it’s cold without you,” Clary pouted with her eyes still closed.

 

Jace leaned over to give her a kiss on the lips, “I’m sorry babe, but I have to go. Last night was amazing, I’ll call you later, okay?”

 

“Amazing because you are falling for me or amazing because we finally slept together?” Clary teased.

 

He rolled onto the bed once more, grabbing her and dragging her over so she fit perfectly in his muscular frame, “Both. But yes, I am definitely falling for you,” he said softly as he kissed her forehead tenderly.

 

But he quickly got back up again to find his clothes, “But, I am serious, I need to go. As much as I love being with you… I need to see Alec, and see how his night went with Magnus. You saw how much I was freaking out last night, you are the one that stopped me from spying on them when I wanted too,” he admitted.

 

Clary giggled, “Oh my god, you are too much. I bet their night went perfect, but by all means, go and make yourself feel better. I’m sure Alec is dying to tell you all about it anyway. I’m just so happy for them both. Magnus deserves someone as genuine as your brother.”

 

“I’m happy for them too. Although I’m still a little skeptical about Magnus, but I think it’s more like when you don’t think anyone will be good enough for someone. So I really am happy for him,” Jace replied.

Clary gave a small smile in response, “It was wrong of me to tell you all about Magnus’s shit when we first met. I think I was still mad at him for ditching me so I vented. Just please give him a chance, Jace.”

 

Jace nodded, he was definitely going to try his best. Magnus had proved to him that he could be trusted when Alec got in trouble at the party. But he was just worried that he was too forward and experienced for Alec. His brother was sensitive and needed someone who would watch out for him.

 

“I will, I promise… Talk to you later,” Jace yelled from the top of the stairs heading out towards the driveway.

 

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

 

Alec slept later than he ever had the morning after his date with Magnus, he was having the most peaceful dreams about his new boyfriend that there was no reason for him to wake up.

 

But his siblings seemed to have a different idea, “Alec! Wake up already, I’ve been waiting like 2 hours already to hear about last night, it’s after 11 A.M!” Izzy squealed in his ear.

 

Alec turned over to look at his sister, and she had a giant smile on her face. One that could only make Alec smile in return, he nodded his head at her.

 

_Can I just get dressed first?_ Alec signed lazily.

 

“Sure! Meet me in my room when you’re done,” she added as she skipped away.

 

He quickly went to the bathroom to wash up and then dressed comfortably in some sweats, he didn’t have any plans today so he knew it didn’t matter what he was wearing.

 

When he entered Izzy’s room he was unsurprised to see Jace sitting with her on the bed. “Hey man, how did it go?” he said eagerly.

 

Alec had never really done this before, he had listened to them explain all the details of their many relationships but he had never been the one doing the telling. But because it was about Magnus, he couldn’t be happier to tell them everything.

 

He jumped on the bed and found himself some space. _I’m pretty sure it was like the best night of my life_ , he signed enthusiastically.

 

Izzy gushed, “Um, yes! …but you need to tell us details, and I mean like everything.”

 

Alec smirked, _Okay, fine. We went out to eat downtown. Magnus told me all kinds of stories about himself, and I talked a lot about you guys too. It was really nice._

“Come on Alec, we’re dying here!” Jace said with a fake yawn.

 

Alec put his hand out as if to gesture that they need to be patient, the story was far from over. He preceded to tell them all about the second half of the date in the park. He told them about his first kisses and how amazing they felt, and he told them how they had officially called each other boyfriends by the end of the night.

 

“Ah! Oh my god, that is so amazing Alec. I am so happy for you right now,” Izzy said with tears in her eyes.

 

Of course, Jace though had a little more to say on the matter, “Wow, that’s a pretty steamy first date Alec. I thought he’d keep things a little more reserved. Do you feel like he pushed you too hard?”

 

Alec rolled his eyes, his always protective brother couldn’t just be happy for him. _No, he wasn’t being too pushy, Jace. In fact, I was the one to kiss him on a lot of the occasions_ , Alec signed back.

 

“Good for you big bro!” Izzy yelled, she was clearly on his side of things.

 

“Look man, there is nothing wrong with it. I’m just saying that you need to be careful with people like Magnus. He’s used to getting his way when it comes to sex and a lot of it! You just can’t let him pressure you into anything, okay?” Jace murmured.

 

Alec knew his brother wasn’t intentionally trying to be an ass but he was starting to get annoyed. _You do realize that I actually want to have sex someday? Right? I don’t get why you are freaking out over kissing? I’m pretty sure you were 11 when you made out with that Jessica girl_ , Alec signed sternly.

 

Izzy was trying to play peacemaker, “He’s just concerned Alec, he isn’t against you on this. He just wants you to be in control and not the other way around.”

 

“Yes, exactly. I’m just saying to be careful and to make your opinions known if you ever feel uncomfortable, okay? That’s all. I swear I’m not the enemy here. I am all for you fucking someone one day or being fucked, whatever! I don’t know how that all works!” Jace explained frantically.

 

That got them all giggling and broke the ice from their tense moment. But Alec got serious again when he actually thought about what Jace had just said.

_Actually, how would I know exactly, I mean like which one I preferred?_ Alec asked hesitantly, hoping his more experienced siblings could help.

 

“I don’t know! Watch some porn or something,” Jace muttered.

 

But Izzy quickly shook her head at that suggestion, “No, no… do not do that! When the time comes Alec, you will figure it out with the person that you are with. And you just do what feels natural to you.”

 

Much better suggestion Alec thought to himself before nodding and giving a small smile. _Thanks for being there for me guys_ , Alec signed.

 

Alec looked towards his brother, _You can be a real pain in the ass sometimes but I appreciate you always looking out for me_ , he signed to his brother.

 

_And Iz_ , as he turned towards her still signing, _thanks for the advice, you really get the whole loving relationship thing. When are you going to get that with Simon?_ He added.

 

Izzy rolled her eyes and giggled, “Hopefully someday! He needs to stop squirming and babbling in my presence first, but we are getting there. I think I am actually going to ask him on a date soon and shake things up a bit.”

 

_I think that’s a great idea_ , Alec replied.

 

The three sat in Izzy’s room for a while longer just hanging out with each other. Jace had spilled about his night with Clary and how he thought that he is falling in love for the first time in his life.

 

Alec was really having the best weekend ever.

 

That is until he heard his phone chirp and saw the message on the screen:

 

**888-976-1232: Hi Alec, this is Raphael Santiago, Magnus’s friend. I’m sorry that we haven’t had a chance to meet yet but I think I need your help. Is Magnus with you?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: Mentions of past violence, abuse, and alcoholism.

Chapter 11

 

Magnus’s head had been spinning ever since he learned of his father’s release. How could the justice system let him out of prison after only serving 13 years for a 15 to 20-year sentence?

 

He remembers the day perfectly in court when his father’s high-priced defense attorneys got him off easier. They argued extreme emotional distress and the jurors bought it. So instead of getting life in prison without the possibility of parole, they lessened his sentence. And now Magnus was seeing just how much that moment mattered.

 

His father had somehow convinced them that he was rehabilitated and let him out early. And Magnus was trying his best to keep it together but he honestly didn’t know how long he could hold on.

 

Ragnor had called the caseworker earlier that morning, but because it was a Sunday, he told him that the only thing he could do was go to the prison himself to speak with the Warden about his release.

 

Apparently, the caseworker didn’t have anything on his schedule until Wednesday, and they couldn’t wait until then for some answers. So he had left early to go and see what he could find out.

 

“Hey Mag? Mag?” Catarina called from the kitchen.

 

Magnus rolled off his bed and headed downstairs to see what she needed.

 

“Hey, so I just got a call from the hospital. There was a huge accident on the highway and they are getting slammed with trauma victims and really want me to go in for the afternoon,” she explained hesitantly.

 

Magnus knew that Cat didn’t want to leave him, but he also knew that she loved her job and that she would never want to leave them short-handed if she could do something to help. “I’ll be fine Cat, you need to go help those people, don’t worry about me,” he said pretty unconvincingly.

 

Cat walked over and placed her hands on both sides of her arms, “Hey, everything is going to be okay. I’m going to head out for a few hours and you’re going to call Raphael to come over right now, okay?”

 

Magnus nodded, “Yea, I’ll give him a call,” he said as he raced back up the stairs. But he had lied, he was on the verge of a panic attack and all he wanted to do was be alone.

Magnus didn’t know how long he had spent in his bed crying once Cat was gone but it was a while. He just couldn’t seem to catch his breath, as soon as he thought it was over, he’d get himself worked up thinking about it again.

 

Maybe he just needed some air, he thought. So he washed his face and headed out for a walk. He didn’t even realize that he was all the way downtown until he had gotten there, it was a pretty far walk from his house.

 

He was about to turn around and head back home when he was interrupted by an all too familiar voice.

 

“Hey Mag, what are you doing out on this fine afternoon?” Camille hissed.

 

Magnus really couldn’t handle this right now, he almost just bolted away. “None of your fucking business Camille,” he shouted.

 

But Magnus was not met with the reaction he had thought he would get.

Did she actually look concerned?

 

“Whoa Maggie, what’s wrong with you?” she said as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

 

Magnus knew that this was dangerous and that he should just leave immediately, but Camille was one of the few people that actually knew about his past and at this moment he just felt like he was going to explode if he didn’t tell someone.

 

So he purged, he shouted everything he was feeling at her. He was just so angry that his father had been released. And Camille just stood there listening intently to the whole thing. Magnus was out of breath and gasping when he was done.

 

Camille continued with her unexpected behavior, she walked towards him and wrapped him up in a big hug. “It’s going to be okay, just because he is out doesn’t mean he can get you. I doubt he would even know what you look like at this point.”

 

Magnus knew she had a point, he was just a child when all this had happened and a lot of years had passed. “I guess you’re right. Well, I better get going and head home,” he said and tried to turn and leave.

 

“What no way! You know I live a block away, just come back with me and I’ll drive you,” Camille said as she grabbed a hold of his wrist.

 

Magnus could have sworn he saw a glint of something in her eye, but his legs were extremely tired already so he knew a ride would be helpful.

 

Camille hooked her arm around Magnus’s and pulled him towards her house.

 

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

 

**Alec: No, I haven’t seen him since last night. Why? Is something wrong?**

**Raphael: Cat called me to check and see how Magnus was doing. She was totally freaked out when I told her that I hadn’t seen him today. Apparently, he was supposed to call me to come over when she left. I went over to his place but he wasn’t there.**

**Alec: But why did he need someone to be with him? He was fine when I left him last night.**

**Raphael: Look Alec, I can’t really get into specifics, it’s just not my story to tell. As you probably know already, his past is complicated. But, I’m going to head out to look for him. Do you want to come? Can I come pick you up?**

**Alec: Yes, definitely. I’m ready as soon as you can be here.**

Alec was panicking, he didn’t have a clue of what was going on. Everything seemed fine last night. Why was Magnus so upset and to the point where his guardian wanted Raphael to be with him when she left.

 

A few minutes later, he heard the honking outside. He ran out to the car as quickly as he could, luckily his parents weren’t home to say anything about his whereabouts.

 

He made sure to bring his phone so he could communicate with Raphael.

 

**It’s nice to finally meet you, I’m just sorry that is like this.** He moved the phone over to Raphael.

 

He gave a smile in return, “Yea, I’m glad I’m meeting you too. I’m sorry that I don’t know sign language, it would probably be a hell of a lot easier.”

 

**That’s okay, gives me a reason to use my app.** Alec replied trying to make him feel comfortable in his presence.

 

**So, where should we look first?**

And with that, they were off. Raphael had known Magnus a lot longer than Alec, so he knew all of the spots he liked to hang out when something was bothering him.

 

They tried the school but it was empty, Alec learned that Magnus liked to sneak into the art studios to work on his designs when the school was closed.

 

“He might be in the park, where we were last night,” Raphael suggested.

 

Alec nodded in agreement, it didn’t hurt to check anywhere he suggested. But he was getting more and more nervous as each new place turned up empty. They had both been frantically texting Magnus as well and were getting nothing in return.

 

**I’m getting really worried, I know you don’t want to betray your friend. But I need to know what this is about! Magnus could be hurt. Please Raphael, I need to know that he is okay.** Alec texted.

 

Raphael sighed, “Look there is one more place we haven’t checked yet where he might be. If we don’t find him there, then I will tell you everything and we can figure out the next step, okay?”

 

**Okay, sounds good. But, where? I feel like we’ve looked all over town.**

Raphael had a stern look on his face, “Oh believe me, you aren’t going to like it.”

 

And that is how Alec found himself sitting in the driveway belonging to Camille Belcourt, someone that he had no desire to ever interact with again. He was really hoping that Raphael was wrong about this.

 

They walked up to the house together and rang the doorbell.

 

She opened the door pretty quickly, “Oh look, it’s you two. What the hell do you want?”

 

“Cut the shit Camille! Is Magnus in there?” Raphael replied pointing inside the house.

 

“Maybe,” she shrugged her shoulders as she turned to face Alec, “What’s it to you, mute boy?”

 

Alec rolled his eyes and pushed past her to head inside to see for himself. He wasn’t usually this bold but he would do anything to see Magnus right now.

 

But he wasn’t expecting to see what faced him when he walked into the living room.

 

Magnus was laying back on the couch with his feet up watching TV. Alec’s eyes turned down to the coffee table where a half empty bottle of whiskey was sitting with two glasses next to it.

 

“What the fuck, Camille! You gave him something to drink! Do you have any redeeming qualities in you? You know how good he was doing!” Raphael was yelling at her.

 

But Alec could care less about Camille right now, all he cared about was Magnus and if he was okay.

 

_Magnus, are you okay? I’m here, I’m not going anywhere_ , Alec signed slowly.

 

But Magnus scoffed and waved his hand in the air at Alec. “Please don’t make me try and understand that shit right now.”

 

Alec couldn’t help but feel hurt at his reply. Magnus had never once made him feel bad about his signing. He had to believe that this was the alcohol talking and tried to ignore it.

 

Raphael walked over to help Magnus off the couch, “Come on, amigo. We’re getting the hell out of here.”

 

“Raphie, you came to drink with us! You are too boring to have any fun,” Magnus said laughing before he added, “And you Alexander, should never drink, you just can’t handle it.”

 

“It’s the booze Alec, don’t listen to him,” Raphael said trying to defend Magnus’s behavior.

 

Alec nodded to show that he wasn’t going to let himself be affected. He had heard rumors from people that Magnus was once just as mean as Camille. At first, Alec thought that there was no way that they could be true but now he wasn’t so sure anymore. Maybe drunk Magnus was a completely different person, someone Alec was sure he never wanted to meet again.

 

Magnus seemed to be getting more intoxicated by the minute, they were barely able to get him into the car as he kept trying to run back inside Camille’s house. But eventually, they got him to his own front door.

 

“Oh my god, what happened?” Cat said as she opened the door for them.

 

“Camille happened… and Cat, I’m so sorry but he’s been drinking,” Raphael informed her with his eyes down.

 

“Put him on the couch, we’ll let him sleep for a bit… You must be Alec?” she said gesturing over to him.

 

He nodded his head and gave her a small smile.

 

Alec was not expecting it, but she walked over and embraced him, “Thank you so much for getting him home safe. Everything he has told me about you, I knew you were going to be special,” she said in his ear.

 

Alec had been sitting by Magnus’s side on the couch for a while now until he realized how late it was getting. He took out his phone to address Cat for the first time since meeting her.

 

**Do you mind if I stay with him? At least until he wakes up**. Alec asked.

 

“Of course you can, we’d be happy to have you here. Ragnor should be back any minute so you’ll be able to meet him as well,” She responded.

 

He went back to his place on the couch, but this time he moved Magnus’s head so that it was laying in his lap. He softly stroked his hair causing a small moan to escape Magnus’s lips in his slumber.

 

 

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

 

 

Magnus’s head was all foggy when he woke up, he was disoriented at first and didn’t really know where he was.

 

But as his eyes adjusted, he noticed his sweet boyfriend sleeping beside him on the couch in his own living room. He tried to get up without waking him to grab some water but failed when he realized how snuggled into Alec’s side he was.

 

Alec stirred almost immediately as Magnus tried to change position. “I’m sorry darling, I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said. Magnus couldn’t believe that Alec had even stayed with him, not after his awful behavior at Camille’s house.

 

_It’s okay, I’m here to be with you anyway. How are you feeling?_ Alec asked.

 

Magnus sighed, “Honestly, I feel awful. I’m so sorry you had to see me like that Alexander. You must think I’m so weak…”

 

Magnus went to continue but was stopped when Alec suddenly shot up and kissed him on the lips.

 

_I will not let you call yourself weak Magnus, I learned just how strong you are in these past weeks. You have overcome challenges that most people don’t see in a lifetime. Everyone has their ups and downs in life_ , Alec signed slowly.

 

Magnus couldn’t believe how understanding Alec was being. He had thought that he was going to be disappointed and disgusted with him for having a relapse.

“But the things I said to you and Raph at Camille’s and on the drive home, I can’t imagine you’d want to be with someone like that,” Magnus asked.

 

_But that wasn’t you. You told me a while ago that you had stopped drinking because you didn’t like the person it made you become. Just because you had a slip up doesn’t mean I still don’t care about you_ , Alec signed as he grabbed a hold of Magnus’s hand.

 

“How did I get so lucky then? I’m gonna grab some to drink and then do what I should have done this morning instead of spiraling, which is talk about what is happening with me,” Magnus explained.

 

He was happy to see that Cat and Rag had already gone to bed. He wanted time alone with Alec to explain everything.

 

He ended up making them both some tea and then headed back to the couch. “I hope you like tea, its chamomile,” Magnus offered.

 

Alec gave him a smile and reach out his hand.

 

“Um Alexander?... don’t get me wrong I am so thankful to have you here. But, won’t you get in trouble? It’s almost midnight,” Magnus asked.

 

Alec put his mug on the table and pulled Magnus into his arms.

_Let’s not worry about that right now. I can see how much you are hurting and I am not going anywhere_ , Alec signed.

 

Magnus let out a deep breath before starting, “My father was released from prison yesterday. I found out late last night after our date,” he explained.

 

Alec placed a reassuring kiss on his temple and tightened his grip on Magnus.

 

“When I was 6 years old, my mother died. She was battling depression and took her own life, I was the one who found her in bed that night. My father was always awful to her, he was mean drunk and would take out all of his anger on her. He mostly just ignored me as a child but once my mother was gone, his anger could only be directed towards me.”

 

Magnus couldn’t help but tear up talking about his mother. He missed her every day and wished things had turned out differently. On her good days when she seemed as happy as anyone, she was an amazing mother. And even on her bad days when she was so depressed she couldn’t even leave her bed, she would scoop up her son and cuddle with him for hours.

 

“I made the mistake of calling out for my father when I saw that she was dead. As soon as he walked through the door, I could tell how drunk he was. His eyes nearly went black when he saw what had happened. And before I could even say anything, he was dragging me from the room and down the stars by my hair. He kept shouting that it was all my fault. I didn’t know what he was going to do as he dragged me out of the house, but I just started to scream and fight as hard as I could. But he was so much bigger than me and stronger that I couldn’t escape him. He walked down towards the water near our house and pushed me down into it. He tried to drown, and he would have succeeded if it wasn’t for a neighbor hearing my screams. He was able to push my father away from me and subdued him until the cops came.”

 

Magnus needed to take a breath so he paused and squeezed his eyes shut as he burrowed into Alec’s shirt as hard as he could. He was soothed by Alec running his hands through his hair softly.

 

After a few minutes, Magnus felt ready to continue, “he was convicted of attempted murder but his lawyers argued that he was in an extreme emotional state and didn’t know what he was doing at the time. I tried to tell the court how he had treated my mother all those years but they said that it was hearsay because the victim of the violence couldn’t speak for herself.”  

 

Alec pushed Magnus up and off his chest so that he was sitting in front of him.

 

_I’m so sorry Magnus, I can’t believe that happened to you. I’m so sorry that you weren’t able to tell your mother’s story and get justice for abuse_ , Alec explained.

 

“I’m just so scared, I don’t like thinking that he is now out there somewhere,” Magnus replied as he started to sob.

 

Alec didn’t try and talk Magnus out of his tears, he simply pulled Magnus back down towards his chest and stroked his hair once again.

 

Magnus feel asleep against Alec once again after crying himself to sleep. Alec stayed up and continued to pet Magnus softly to keep him comfortable. He wanted to make sure that Magnus felt safe as he could as he slept.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

 

Alec would try and shut his eyes to rest but found he was quickly startled by Magnus’s moaning in his sleep. He knew his dreams were probably related to his father, so Alec tried to stay alert and would hug him closer to his chest anytime he would stir. 

 

As he tried to stay awake, he mistakenly looked down at his phone and the stream of text messages that his parents were sending him.

 

**Dad: Where are you buddy? It’s getting really late. Are you with Magnus?**

 

**Mom: Alec, where are you? Your siblings said you were helping Magnus with something, but it’s getting late. You need to be home.**

**Mom: I’m not kidding Alec! Get home now!**

**Mom: I’m going to send your father out looking for you if you don’t respond in 5 minutes! Just because you have a boyfriend now does not mean you get to make your own schedule. You still live in my house and need to be home!**

Alec dreaded having to deal with this mess. He knew he was going to be in trouble, but he just couldn’t leave Magnus, not like this when he was so scared. So he tried to send them a reassuring text back even though he knew they’d still be upset.

 

**Alec: I’m fine, I promise. I can’t leave Magnus right now, I’m sorry. I know you’re mad that I’m not home but I swear that this is the place for me to be right now. I’ll see you after school tomorrow.**

**Mom: I’m not happy about this Alec. Not at all. You’ll need to explain your actions to me tomorrow because I don’t understand this kind of behavior from you.**

**Alec: I will explain. Please, try not to worry, I’ll see you tomorrow.**

He put his phone back in his pocket. At this point, the last thing he needed right now was to fight with his mother.

 

Alec’s head was racing most of the night as he thought about what Magnus had been through. He couldn’t even imagine how hard it must have been to move on from such a traumatic experience at such a young age.

 

He was so thankful that Magnus had found a family in Ragnor and Catarina and Alec was only hoping that one day he could be a part of Magnus’s family too.

 

 

 

~~~~~~

When Magnus woke up the next morning he was surprised at how peaceful and warm he felt. But once his eyes began to focus he quickly learned the cause. He was perfectly wrapped up in the arms of his incredible boyfriend.

 

Magnus couldn’t believe that Alec had stayed with him the whole night. How did he get so lucky to have someone like him in his life?

 

“Hey, darling. It’s time to wake up,” Magnus said gently as he rubbed Alec’s shoulder.

 

It took a moment but he was finally able to wake him. Magnus sighed when he saw the very dark circles under his boyfriend’s eyes.

 

“Oh Alexander, did you sleep at all?”

 

Alec gave him a small smile, _I did a little, but I didn’t mind staying up to watch over you_ , he signed lazily.

 

Magnus leaned over to kiss him but was surprised when Alec held up his hand to block his lips.

 

He watched as Alec’s cheeks reddened, _I should probably brush my teeth first_ , he explained.

 

Magnus shook his head and smiled, “I don’t think so darling,” he teased as he leaned back in. He didn’t care in the least, all he knew is that he wanted Alec close to him this morning, he wanted to feel as close as he could.

 

The kiss started out slow and sweet, but after a while Magnus couldn’t help himself from deepening it. He moved his tongue towards Alec’s mouth wanting to savor the moment.

 

Magnus had somehow landed on top of Alec with his legs on either side of his lap. He could have continued kissing Alec like this for hours if he wasn’t interrupted by a throat clearing behind him.

 

When he looked up he noticed Ragnor in the corner of the room, “Well, good morning you two. I see you are behaving like horny teenagers already despite the early hour.”

 

The two boys pushed themselves apart, Magnus almost felt bad for Alec as the redness in his cheeks brightened but he knew that Ragnor was mostly kidding about his interruption.

 

“Come on into the kitchen, you guys can cool down with some breakfast,” Ragnor offered.

 

“Thanks, Rag,” Magnus said as he stood up from the couch stretching. “Do you want some breakfast, darling?”

 

_Thanks for offering, but I should really get home so that I can get ready for school this morning_ , Alec explained.

 

“Nonsense, my dear. Just get ready here, you can borrow something of mine to wear and then just text Izzy to bring you your backpack,” Magnus replied with what he thought was a better idea. He secretly was hoping Alec would agree so that he could dress him in his clothes.

 

_Okay, yea that makes sense_. Alec replied.

 

Ragnor was definitely trying his best to cheer up Magnus this morning. Firstly, Magnus knew that he would have normally been long gone to work already so he must have taken the day off and he was making all his favorite breakfast foods.

 

The boys sat down to eat once Magnus was done choosing something for Alec to wear. And man, did Alec look hot. He fit into Magnus’s boyfriend jeans well despite the height difference and cuffed them at the bottom for effect.

 

Then he chose a simple baby blue soft sweater to go with it. His boyfriend looked divine, Magnus was bummed he wouldn’t be in school today to see everyone gushing but he knew he needed to take a personal day.

 

“So Mag, I…um… I’m going to call Dr. Gray and see if I can make an appointment this afternoon or tomorrow. Now, I know you are going to try and convince me that you don’t need it. But there is no harm in going to just to talk things through,” Ragnor explained with hopeful eyes that Magnus would be amenable.

 

Magnus was not thrilled with this plan, he knew he had fucked up with how he handled things yesterday but after telling his story to Alec and getting a good night sleep he was feeling a bit better. Yes, he was still scared, scared that his father would pop up whenever he felt like it but going to therapy wouldn’t change that.

 

But before he could even protest, he felt Alec nudge his side. _It might be good for you, it doesn’t hurt to try it_ , Alec signed warily, he didn’t want to overstep.

 

Magnus saw the hesitation in Alec’s signing, “Hey, you never have to be afraid to tell me what you really think Alexander.”

 

Alec returned with a smile, _Well, then I really do think you should go, the doctor might be able to help in some way_.

 

“Okay darling, I’ll go. Rag, you can make an appointment,” Magnus agreed.

 

“Wow Alec, you are welcomed here anytime. Usually, that would have been a fight,” Ragnor said with a wink.

 

_Glad I could help, I should probably get to school now though. I’ll check in but text me if you need anything_ , Alec signed slowly.

 

“He said he is happy to help, Rag!” Magnus translated. He turned to Alec and squeezed his hand tightly “I’ll see you later Alexander, I’ll be fine here with Ragnor.”

 

Alec really hated to leave Magnus but he knew that he would be safe with his guardian. And Alec’s parents would kill him if he missed school especially after staying out all night. So he embraced Magnus once more in his arms before leaving for the day.

 

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

 

Alec sat down next to his siblings and friends at lunch. They were all curious about what was happening with Magnus. He tried to fill them in as best he could but he also didn’t want to reveal anything that Magnus wanted to keep private so he did his best.

 

“Oh Alec, I’m so glad that you stayed with him last night. He definitely needed you there. Even if you’re going to be deep shit with mom when you get home,” Izzy said as she moved to sit next to him.

 

“Poor Magnus, I can’t believe he has to deal with this again after so many years,” Clary muttered.

 

_You should give him a call later on, I know he’d love to hear from you_ , Alec suggested.

 

“Yea, I think I will. Things have been better between us lately but I still haven’t really reached out to him to hang out one on one, so I think I’ll finally do that,” Clary hummed.

 

“That’s a great idea babe,” Jace added as he moved in closer to Clary, giving her a small kiss.

 

Since leaving Magnus’s house this morning, Alec had been thinking about doing something and now that he was in school, the itch to do it was even worse. But he knew he would need some help in accomplishing it.

 

Alec turned to his sister, _I need your help translating for me, do you mind?_ He asked.

 

“Of course not bro! I’m always available to help,” Izzy replied with a smile.

 

Alec stood up from the table and walked towards where Camille was sitting with her friends. Izzy was standing by his side, her eyes widened when she realized who they were going over to talk to.

 

Camille’s eyes darkened when she noticed the siblings standing in front of her.

 

“What’s the matter Lightwood? Come to flip me off again. I’d love to see you try with that big cast of yours on. Tell me, did it hurt when Sebastian smashed your hand?” Camille snickered.

 

Alec took a deep breath in before he began to sign.

 

_You need to stay the hell away from Magnus. We are together now and I intend on protecting him no matter what, and that includes me telling you to fuck off!_

 

Alec smiled over at his sister who was doing a fabulously animated job of saying exactly what he was signing to Camille.

 

_How could you do something like this? Do you have any conscience? Instead of being there for Magnus when he could have used a friend, you chose to use that against him and make things worse in his time of need. What kind of fucked up person does that!_

 

“How dare you! You know nothing about me. I have just as much shit going on in my life as Magnus does, and I find ways to get through it. I was only trying to help him forget about his problems,” Camille explained.

 

_What ways are those Camille? Because I have been a part of this school for a month and already I can see how you handle things. You are nasty to people, you make fun of people, you play jokes on people. All of these things are not great coping skills._

 

_And I honestly do feel bad for you, I feel bad that you walk around all day with such hate. But I won’t let you drag Magnus down with you._

That seemed to hit a nerve, Camille looked livid, she was definitely not accustomed to people speaking to her like this. She stood up and moved closer towards Alec.

 

“You feel sorry for me? You have to be fucking joking me? I’m not some disabled moron who needs to speak through his sister. Your parents should have just aborted you!” she replied out of anger.

 

And that’s when Izzy pushed Alec out of the way to speak her own mind. Before Alec could stop her, Izzy slapped Camille straight across the face. “NOW YOU NEED TO STOP TALKING!”

 

“Alec is a better person than you ever will be! You need to leave him and Magnus alone or you’ll have to deal with me,” Izzy threatened. She grabbed Alec’s hand and pulled him away back towards their table, leaving a stunned Camille behind them.

 

“Oh my god, did you just slap Camille? Because I think I just fell in love,” Simon exclaimed.

 

_Iz, I’m sorry you had to do that. I didn’t mean to get you involved like that. I just needed her to leave Magnus alone_. Alec signed warily.

 

He felt bad about the way things had unfolded. He didn’t want Izzy to have to defend him, he wasn’t even upset about what Camille had said. He knew she used her insults as a defense mechanism and he honestly felt sorry for her.

 

“That was long overdue Alec! She needed to be put in her place and realize she can’t just get away with saying the first awful thing that comes to her!” Izzy replied with a sharp nod of her head.

 

And everyone at the table seemed to agree with her as they high-fived Izzy for her actions.

 

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

 

Magnus sat in the familiar waiting room bouncing his leg up and down, now that he was here he was nervous. Dr. Gray was always nice and understanding but Magnus wasn’t sure if he wanted to open the floodgates again to all the emotions he was feeling last night.

 

He honestly felt like he already had his emotional release with Alec and he didn’t need to repeat that. He smiled thinking about his boyfriend. Alec had texted him after every class period so far today to check in with him. This was all so much easier to handle with Alec by his side.

 

“Will you stop fidgeting, it’s going to be fine,” Ragnor shouted as he put a hand on Magnus’s knee to steady it.

 

Magnus shot him an apologetic glance, luckily he didn’t have much longer to squirm before his name was called.

 

“Come on in, Magnus,” Dr. Gray announced once her office door opened.

 

Magnus settled into the comfy armchair on the other side of her desk.

 

“How are you Magnus? It’s been a while since your last visit. Tell me what’s on your mind today?” Dr. Gray asked gently.

 

Dr. Gray already knew all about Magnus’s father so it was easy to catch her up on the events of this weekend. His eyes fell to the ground in front of him when he told her about his drinking at Camille’s house.

 

Magnus wonders if she would be upset with him. She was the one to convince him that he needed to separate himself from Camille in the first place.

 

“Magnus, you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. Your father’s release was an extremely stressful event. It’s okay that you didn’t handle it perfectly right away,” Dr. Gray explained.

 

“Yea but if it wasn’t for Alec and Raph coming to find me, who knows what would have happened that night? Or what I would have done!” Magnus uttered.

 

“And that is exactly why it is so important that you are surrounding yourself with good people like this. A year ago, you had friends that would have encouraged you to drink yourself into a coma. A now, you have people who only want the best for you. I think you have made a lot of progress!” she replied.

 

Dr. Gray had an amazing way of making everything into a positive. Any of Magnus’s past misdeeds were always deemed learning experiences, and even the smallest of triumphs were praised as progress in her eyes.

 

“Tell me more about Alec? This is the first time I've heard you mention someone in a relationship capacity other than Camille” Dr. Gray asked.

 

Talking about Alec was always easy for Magnus. He loved to gush to people about his incredible boyfriend, no matter how new of a relationship it was. He had become closer to Alec in the last month than he had with anyone in his life, he trusted him completely.

 

“…And…um… I think I might be falling in love…like for the first time ever,” Magnus continued. He and Camille used to call what they had as love, but Magnus had quickly learned that they were not even close to being in love. In fact, the more Magnus thought about the more he realized that she would actually use it to manipulate him.

 

Dr. Gray had a huge smile on her face, “That is great, Magnus! I’m so happy you found someone like him.”

 

“Me too…I’m happier when I’m with him than I have been most my life,” Magnus explained as best he could. He sometimes felt like he couldn’t exactly put into words how much he felt for Alec.

 

They spent the remainder of the hour discussing ways in which Magnus could deal with his emotions if they got too out of hand. He had explained how he felt on Sunday before running out of his house and he really didn’t want to feel that un-hinged ever again.

 

As Magnus was about to leave, Dr. Gray added, “And Magnus, please come see me again. I’d like you to come at least every two weeks to check in.”

 

“And I know what you are going to say, that coming back to therapy is a step backward, but I promise you it isn’t. Learning how to live with your father being out there in the world isn’t going to be easy, and it won’t happen all at once, so please let me help.”

 

Magnus nodded in reply, he knew she was right. This wasn’t going to be easy and he could use all the help he could get.

 

Once he was out the door, he checked his phone once again.

 

**Alec: Hey Mags, just checking in again. I miss you, everything going okay?**

 

Magnus’s heart melted as he read the message. He didn’t know for sure if Alec even realized that he used the nickname that Rag and Cat had given him so many years ago.

 

 

 

~~~~~~~

 

 

 

Alec and Magnus had survived the week. Luckily, once Alec explained everything to his parents they were very supportive. They couldn’t believe a parent could do something like that to their child.

 

And his dad, being a cop had said that he would do whatever he could to help keep Magnus safe. Robert had flagged Asmodeous Bane’s name in the system, so if he was to pop anywhere in Idris County they would know.

 

Magnus was more than relieved when Alec told him about what his father had done. But Alec knew that Magnus was still struggling, he had good days and bad days. In school on Friday, he seemed to be having a bad day. And Alec knew he wanted to do something to fix it.

 

So at lunch that day, Alec finally figured out the perfect idea after listening to a conversation between Izzy and Clary.

 

_Mags, would you mind helping me with something after school today?_ Alec asked.

 

“Of course, darling. Anything for you,” Magnus replied with a small smile.

 

_I need to get some new clothes. Do you think you could help with that?_ He signed as he watched Magnus’s face light up.

 

“I can certainly help with that!” Magnus said enthusiastically. Alec was hoping this would help Magnus take his mind off of things.

 

Later that day, Magnus had picked Alec up from his house and headed towards the nearest mall.

 

“So my dear, where do you like to shop?” Magnus asked.

 

_Just like the usual places_ , Alec signed casually. He was hoping Magnus wouldn’t realize his complete lack of knowledge about shopping.

 

Magnus shook his head and giggled, “Oh my god, you are hopeless! Don’t worry though, I’ll take care of you today.”

 

Once Magnus asked a few more questions he could tell what Alec was looking for. He wanted something comfy but good looking and cheap to buy.

 

“We’re going to start in Express and then move onto H & M, okay?” Magnus muttered, naming different places Alec had never heard of as they walked into the mall.

 

Alec linked their hands together and nodded as he let Magnus guide him through the stores.

 

Once Magnus got going, he was like a kid in a candy store. He was running back and forth and piling clothes onto Alec’s arms as quickly as he could. Alec couldn’t even believe how many items he was choosing but he told himself he would just go along with for Magnus.

 

“Okay, I think I’m finished, darling. Now walk with me and I’ll guide you to the dressing room.” Magnus claimed.

 

The woman working in the store, smiled when she saw the boys. “Wow, you are fixing for a whole new wardrobe, huh?”

 

“Yes, we are! Can we use the big one at the end? He may need my help with some stuff,” Magnus asked with a wink.

 

She giggled and led them down towards the end of the dressing rooms and let them be. Alec watched as Magnus busied himself in the room hanging up all the different clothing choices.

 

“Okay… start with these pants and this shirt first!” Magnus said as he handed Alec the clothes off the hangers.

 

Alec paused for a second, _are you going to stay?_ He signed shyly.

 

Magnus smirked, “Well I want too, unless you want some privacy,” he teased.

 

Magnus walked over to give Alec a small kiss, “This sudden shopping trip was a play to make me feel better, yes? Well, nothing would make me feel better if I was to see you almost naked.”

 

Alec’s heart began to beat faster, not because he was uncomfortable about what Magnus was asking, but because he was getting turned on. And in a dressing room of all places.

 

He leaned over to give Magnus one more quick kiss before pointing over to the bench for Magnus to sit on.

 

He pulled off his jacket and threw it next to Magnus, and then reached down to undo his belt buckle.

 

“All that’s missing is music!” Magnus hummed. “But I’m sorry darling, please continue.”

 

Alec knew he didn’t need to be shy around Magnus so he reached down and pulled his shirt over his head. And then made quick work of his pants as well until he was standing in the middle of the room in his boxers.

 

His face reddened slightly as he watched Magnus eye him from head to toe. He stood up and walked over towards Alec. “You are beautiful, Alexander,” he said as he moved his hand along Alec’s bare chest.

 

Alec didn’t think his body could take things getting any hotter right now, but luckily Magnus was just as excited for the clothes as he was about Alec’s body. “Okay, try this outfit on first. I think it’ll be a winner!”

 

Alec was sure they had been at this for hours. After what felt like the 100th shirt he was trying on he was beginning to tire. _I think I’m finally burning out here, Mags_. He admitted.

 

Magnus giggled, “I was wondering when you’d had enough. This was amazing, Alexander. I can’t believe you put up with all of this just to cheer me up. Thank you, darling.”

 

_I was happy to do it_. Alec signed as he moved closer to wrap an arm around Magnus. _And Izzy is going to be so happy when she sees all of these clothes_ , he added as he walked towards the car.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heads up: this chapter does contain some smut!

Chapter 13

 

Magnus couldn’t believe how quickly October had gone by. He had been happier than he ever was and it had all to do with Alec. Over the last month, their relationship had become even stronger. There was such a comfort for them both when they were together.

 

Magnus was absolutely sure that he was in love and he was planning on telling Alec as soon when the moment was just right.

 

Magnus was doing really well dealing with his father’s release. He had been seeing Dr. Gray once a week to talk things through and to keep him on track. He hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol since the night at Camille’s house.

 

He also checked in with Alec’s dad to see if he had been in the area. So far it seemed as if his father was leaving him be which Magnus was more than relieved about.

 

Magnus watched as his amazing boyfriend headed into his room. It was a Friday and they would usually head to Magnus’s house to spend some time together at the start the weekend.

 

Ragnor and Catarina worked late on Fridays so they always had a few hours to themselves. And luckily, Alec’s parents had become much more comfortable with him spending time away from them and letting him have more freedom.

 

Alec crawled up onto the bed and laid his head down on the pillow. Magnus quickly followed facing him in the bed.

 

Alec watched Magnus pick up the packet of his PT exercises to look them over yet again as if he was studying for a chemistry test.

 

The cast on Alec’s hand had finally come off this week and Magnus was determined to help him through his rehabilitation.

 

Magnus could sense the apprehension Alec had when he saw his hand, it looked much thinner and was extremely weak still.

 

“Okay, so let’s try some of the easier ones first. Squeeze the ball in your hand 10-15 times as hard as you can,” Magnus asked.

 

Alec reached for the ball to try it out. It was painful when he squeezed it, and his hand would throb in protest. He was able to do it 3 times before dropping the ball on the bed in defeat.

 

_I’m sorry, Mags._ Alec signed with his head down. Magnus was trying so hard to be supportive and he couldn’t even do a full set of exercises.

 

“Hey, stop that,” Magnus said as he lifted Alec’s chin with his fingers. “It’s your first try at it, darling. I think we just have to make it more fun for you.”

 

Alec wasn’t sure what he meant by that but he picked the ball back up to try again. This time Magnus counted out each squeeze. “Just try and make it to 5 this time,” Magnus encouraged.

 

Alec put everything he had into it, it was painful, but he was determined to try his best for his boyfriend.

 

As soon as Alec made it 5, Magnus smirked and leaned in for a kiss. “And now you get your reward,” he teased.

 

Magnus pulled Alec underneath him, his pliant boyfriend inching out his legs so that he had room to fall in between them.

 

The kiss started off slowly, both of them perfectly content with letting them take their time exploring each other’s lips softly.

 

Magnus loved making out with Alec. They hadn’t gone farther than that yet and Magnus was more than happy in his relationship. He wanted things to go at their own pace and for Alec to feel completely comfortable.

 

After a few minutes, Magnus pulled back and settled back on his knees. Leaving Alec looking more than confused.

 

_Why did you stop?_ Alec asked.

 

“Because you need to keep going on your exercises. But don’t worry, the more you do the better your reward will be, I promise,” Magnus said with a wink.

 

_Well, let’s do it then_ , Alec signed back eagerly.

 

They tried another one in which Alec had to spread his fingers out as wide as he could as he flexed his wrist back and forth. This one was actually a little easier for Alec than squeezing the ball so he was able to do it quite a few times before stopping.

 

“That’s great, Alexander! Was that one easier? Or are you just looking for a better reward?” Magnus asked.

 

_Definitely harder_ , Alec signed quickly.

 

Magnus knew he was probably lying but definitely wouldn’t pass up a chance to spoil Alec if he could.

 

He dove back into Alec’s lips harder this time. He pushed his tongue out as Alec quickly opened his mouth to grant him access. He explored his mouth with intensity as he tried to memorize every inch of it.

 

Magnus pushed his body as close as he could into Alec’s. He could feel that he was probably getting hard beneath his jeans. So far, they had always cooled down if one of them got too excited during their make-out sessions.

 

Once Magnus could tell that Alec was definitely getting aroused by his actions he willed himself to pull back. “Well, I guess it’s time to go back to exercises.”

 

Alec nodded his head in protest, _no more exercises_ , he signed stubbornly as he tried to pull Magnus back down to him. 

 

“Darling, you need to cool off anyway,” he interjected.

 

Alec seemed to be thinking hard for a moment before he signed again. _What if I didn’t want to cool off this time?_

Magnus’s head shot back up, “Really, like you want to get off together?”

 

Alec’s cheeks instantly blushed, _Yea, I mean I don’t want to have sex yet. But isn’t there something else we could do?_

“Of course, darling. There is a lot we could do. But, are you sure you are ready?” Magnus made sure to clarify.

 

Alec nodded his head and pulled Magnus back down in between his legs.

 

Magnus continued kissing and nipping down Alec’s face and neck. He loved how Alec’s body squirmed underneath him.

 

He moved his hands down towards Alec’s stomach and pushed his shirt up exposing his perfect abs. Alec was pretty skinny but he also had great muscles. Magnus moved his head down and started peppering them with small kisses.

 

Alec also got bolder as he snaked Magnus’s shirt up and over his head swiftly. His hands moving softly up and down his back gently.

 

Magnus moved up his stomach pushing his shirt up as he went. When he got to Alec’s chest he gestured him to leaned forward so he could pull the shirt up and over.

 

As Magnus started to get lost in the moment, he moved up toward Alec’s chest. He brushed his lips over one of his nipples causing Alec to arch his back up in pleasure.

 

Whenever Magnus learned of another one of Alec’s sensitive spots he would always pay special attention to it. His favorite was the side of Alec’s neck which always seemed to give him the chills anytime he kissed it. He licked his nipple again this time with a bit more pressure.

 

Magnus felt himself growing in his own pants and he could feel just how affected Alec was as well.

 

“Alexander, sweetheart?” Magnus said interrupting Alec from his bliss. “Can I take your pants off?”

 

Alec nodded swiftly as he breathed in heavily.

 

Magnus made quick work of his belt and the buttons on his jeans. Alec lifted his hips so that he could easily pull them off as he threw them across the room with a smile.

 

He turned his attention to his own clothes and stood for a moment so he could pull his own pants down. His pants were of course a lot tighter than Alec’s so he could use the leverage of standing up.

 

Magnus’s heart was pounding loudly, as he crawled back onto the bed next to his gorgeous boyfriend.

 

He slowly moved his hand over the top of Alec’s boxers. “Can I touch you?” he asked.

 

But Magnus instantly saw something in Alec’s eyes and knew something was wrong, Alec looked uncomfortable and embarrassed. “Hey, it’s okay if you aren’t ready. What’s wrong?”

 

_No, it’s not what you think_. Alec signed warily. _When I’ve done this to myself lately, it's awkward and not very pleasant with my left hand so I’m just afraid that it won’t be any good for you if I try to do it for you._

“Well, being with you is always amazing, Alexander. So, no need to worry about that. But don’t worry about any of that right now. We can wait until your right hand is back in shape and then try again. We can even make it part of your therapy,” he said with a wink.

 

Alec dropped his head slightly, _does that mean we are stopping again?_

Magnus smiled and giggled, “Oh, I didn’t say that, darling. Now please get out of your head for a moment and enjoy this, okay?”

 

Alec smiled and laid back on the bed. Magnus’s heart was exploding inside, here Alec is having his first sexual experience with another person and he is only worried about how he is going to make Magnus feel good.

 

Magnus began teasing at the line of Alec’s boxers again. He looked up at him for a signal to continue as he inched his finger under the rim. Alec’s eyes were squeezed shut but he was nodding his head eagerly in consent.

 

Magnus pushed his hand under his boxers and gripped onto his length gently. At first, he just held it as he gently kissed at Alec’s stomach. Once he felt Alec lift his hips ever so slightly looking for more he began his movements.

 

He moved up and down his length slowly, wanting the moment to last as long as possible for Alec. Once he got a rhythm going he moved his other hand down towards himself.

 

His hand disappeared into his own boxers as he started to stroke himself in time with his other hand.

 

Magnus worked them both a little harder after a few moments. He was so close, watching Alec squirm in pleasure was driving him crazy.

 

He leaned his head over towards Alec’s as he licked and sucked at the spot on Alec’s neck. That was all it took before he felt the familiar warm liquid building up on his hand beneath his boyfriend’s boxers.

 

He quickened his pace on his own length, wanting to release along with Alec as best he could. Alec had turned to the side and was rubbing his fingers slowly back and forth on his chest. Alec rippled his finger over his nipple a few times before he finished himself.

 

All Magnus could do was huff out in deep breathes for a minute until he came back down to reality. “How do you feel?” he asked.

 

Alec kissed his shoulder warmly. _Amazing_ , he replied. Alec began to move away and off the bed.

 

“Where do you think you are going?” Magnus asked.

 

Alec smiled, _stay there, I’ll be right back_ , he signed as he disappeared from the room.

 

He reappeared after just a moment with a cloth. _I figured you could use one,_ he signed _._

Magnus chuckled and nodded, “yes, probably.”

 

He went to grab the towel from Alec’s hands. But before he could grab it, Alec pulled it away from him. Magnus eyed him suspiciously, but Alec began to pull down his own boxers and wipe himself clean.

 

He then turned towards Magnus and hooked his fingers under his boxers as he slightly pulled them down exposing him. He gently wiped the warm, wet cloth over him as he cleaned him up as best he could.

 

Magnus watched contently as Alec folded the towel over and then brought it up towards his hands as he wiped them clean as well.

 

“Thank you darling,” Magnus hummed. He loved how caring and tender Alec always was.

 

Alec threw the towel towards Magnus’s hamper and cuddled up next to him as he rested his head on his chest.

 

They spent the next hour in each other’s arms just stroking gently at the body of the other in small circles.

 

 

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

 

Alec woke up the following morning thinking about everything that had happened yesterday.

 

And it wasn’t just that he and Magnus had finally done something other than make out, it was that Alec was feeling closer to Magnus than ever before. They had laid together for so long after that just wanting to be with each other.

 

Alec could have stayed linked in Magnus’s arms forever if they hadn’t been interrupted by Catarina finally getting home.

 

Both boys jumped up so fast and were quickly throwing each other’s clothes at one another from across the room as they tried to straighten themselves out as best they could.

 

Alec was beginning to realize that maybe his feelings were beginning to grow beyond what they were before. He always wanted to be close to Magnus, he always worried about him, and he wanted to share every moment he could with him. He was pretty sure he was falling in love.

 

But he was also afraid to tell Magnus how strongly he felt. He was afraid of coming on too desperate and that Magnus would feel uncomfortable with how quickly Alec had fell for him.

Alec was interrupted by his thoughts by a knock at his door.

 

“Wake up big bro! We are leaving an hour,” Izzy shouted from behind the door.

 

Alec was surprised that she hadn’t just barged in, so he snapped his fingers as loudly as he could to signal to her that he was awake.

 

“Yay! You’re up. Come to my room if you need help getting ready,” she added before walking away.

 

He laid in bed for a few more minutes before getting up to shower. Alec had been looking forward to today all week since Izzy had suggested spending a day in the city to the group at lunch on Tuesday.

 

He was more than happy that his parents had easily agreed that he could go with the group. His parents had been so great lately with letting him go out and do more things.

 

Everyone had loved the idea. They were going to explore a bunch of places and Alec had reached out to Lydia who was going to meet up with them as well.

 

He took extra time to get ready and wore one of the outfits that Magnus had picked out for him when he took him shopping a while ago.

 

Alec was finishing up a math assignment when he heard the horn of Simon’s van outside. He reached over to grab his wallet when he heard Izzy shouting from the kitchen, “Come on guys!”

 

Alec and Jace opened their doors at the same time in the hall. “God, you think Iz is a bit too excited to be spending the day with Simon?” Jace asked him.

 

_Magnus and I think that they’ll be a great couple, I mean once they figure things out that is_ , he signed.

 

Jace lifted his eyes brows up. “You do realize you just answered in the plural, like for the both of you. You guys are getting way too sappy for me,” he teased.

 

Alec gave a small push to his brother’s shoulder. _Well, we think the same thing about you and Clary as well, if that makes a difference._

“Well, in that case. I guess I’m cool with it,” Jace replied. “Come on, let’s go before Izzy comes up here to get us.”

 

When Alec entered the van he was happy to see that he had already picked up Magnus and Clary.

 

_Hey everybody_ , he signed to no one in particular before sitting next to Magnus.

 

“Hey, Alec!” Clary said. “You excited for today?”

 

_Yea I am, I can’t wait for all of you to meet Lydia_ , he replied.

 

“What’s he saying?” Simon asked as he pulled out of the driveway.

 

Magnus quickly stepped in to translate, “He’s excited for us all to meet Lydia.” Magnus grabbed Alec’s hand and linked their fingers together. “I can’t wait to meet her either, Alexander.”

 

“Me too, dude!” Simon added.

 

It didn’t take them long at all to get into the city on a Saturday, they were parked and headed towards their first stop within an hour of leaving Idris.

 

Clary had her arm wrapped around Jace as she turned to the group, “You guys are going to love this museum, it’s my absolute favorite!”

 

“What! I thought shopping was first on the agenda,” Magnus said as he halted his steps on the sidewalk.

 

Alec gently pushed him forward. _Come on, we’re trying some new_ , he signed encouragingly.

 

 

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

 

 

Magnus felt like they had been walking around the museum for hours when in reality it had really only been about 45 minutes. He had always gotten antsy quickly in places where you generally were supposed to be reserved and quiet.

 

He felt a slight tug at his hand. _Hey, pay attention or you’ll miss Clary’s extremely detailed description of the next painting_. Alec signed sarcastically.

 

Magnus leaned in close so that only Alec could hear him. “I just want to burst out laughing each time Jace nods his head and says hmmm that’s incredible after everything Clary says.”

 

Alec instantly smiled at that, he too had noticed how Jace had suddenly gained a deep appreciation of the arts.

Luckily after about 10 more paintings someone finally felt it necessary to step. “Clary, you know I love you but I think I’m all Picasso’d out here. And I’m starving, I think it’s time for some grub,” Simon spoke up.

 

“We haven’t even seen any Picasso today! You’re all hopeless. Let’s just go get some food,” Clary said as she threw her hands in the air.

 

“Yes, food! I completely agree. I want to bring you all to Taki’s. It’s was my favorite diner to always sneak away too if I needed to get away from my foster home for a bit,” Magnus added.

 

_I’ll text Lydia to meet us there_ , Alec signed as he took out his phone.

 

“Perfect! I miss her so much,” Izzy said as she jumped up and down.

 

When they arrived at Taki’s, Magnus found them a table in the back with plenty of space. Just as he went to open his menu, he saw a beautiful blonde girl coming towards them.

 

“Alec!” she screamed way too loud for a restaurant.

 

Alec immediately stood up, he had a huge smile on his face but also put his finger up to his lips.

 

“Hey! Don’t shush me. Come here, I miss you so much,” Lydia said as she wrapped her arms around him.

 

Magnus nearly lost it when he saw that Alec had tears in his eyes. He was so happy to see him finally reunited with Lydia. From everything Alec had told him about her, she was an amazing friend.

 

Unfortunately, the group clearly thought that their moment was continuing for too long. “Yea, yea, yea break it up,” Jace said from his seat.

 

“Well, hello to you too Jace. You are just jealous not to be my favorite Lightwood!” Lydia said.

 

Alec just shook his head and smiled at his brother before gesturing towards Magnus.

 

_Lydia, this is Magnus. I’m so happy that you two are finally meeting._ Alec signed.

 

“Me too! I feel like I already know you from how much he mentions you,” Lydia said as she walked up to give Magnus a hug as well.

 

Magnus loved her already, she seems so warm and open. “Same here! I love all of the stories he shares about you guys growing up. He’s also let me read a bunch of the short stories you two have written together.”

 

“Oh my god, no way! I’m sure half of them were terrible. We have written a ton over the years,” Lydia gushed.

 

Once everyone was settled and Lydia was introduced to the rest of the group the conversation was flowing without pause. Lydia seemed to blend in the group seamlessly.

 

Alec couldn’t have been happier in this moment, all of his favorite people together in one spot.

 

“Alec? Hey, were you listening?” Lydia said as she interrupted him from his thoughts.

 

Magnus lifted his hand to kiss the back of it. “Maybe he needs food,” he teased.

 

_No, sorry. I was just thinking_. He signed quickly.

 

“Of course not, still always in your head,” she giggled. “Clary and Simon were saying that they’d love to work with us on the graphic novel idea we have been thinking about!”

 

_Wait really?_ He asked.

 

“Yea! We have never been able to actually try it because we lack any type of artistic talent, and Simon said he’s been reading them since he can remember so he’ll be a great editor to make sure we are doing it right.” Lydia told the group.

 

“Well, I’d be honored to do the drawings. Once you have some storyboards made up just let me know and I can get started!” Clary said excitedly.

 

“An editor? I like how that sounds,” Simon added. “What is the series going to be about though?”

 

“Alec explains it best,” Lydia gestured her hand out to him. “He came up with the concept.”

 

_Simon doesn’t know sign language, Lyds_. Alec explained.

 

“I’ll translate for you, darling,” Magnus asked as he nodded his head in encouragement.

 

“Oh my god, I love the “darling”,” Lydia said with air quotes.

 

“Right! Me too,” Izzy added.

 

Alec rolled his eyes at them both. _Fine, I’ll explain it_. He signed. He didn’t know why but he always felt self-conscious when he discussed his own stories.

 

_So I think it’d be cool to explore a world where supernatural creatures all live among each other. We could write about angels, demons, vampires, werewolves, maybe even warlocks_. He signed slowly, knowing that a lot of the words would probably be new to Magnus. But his boyfriend seemed to do a perfect job of translating for him.

 

“That sounds so cool!” Simon said eagerly. “I’d definitely read something like that!”

 

Magnus watched as Alec’s eyes widened. He could never understand why Alec didn’t see how talented he was. Magnus always loved every one of the stories that Alec showed him.

 

Alec was definitely getting more excited about his ideas as time went on. His signing was getting quicker as he revealed more details about the storyline. Magnus loved how excited his boyfriend was getting about his idea, he had never seen Alec communicate so much about something before in a big group.

 

Alec stopped for a quick moment to take a bite of his hamburger before continuing. He was just about to lift his hands up to continue when he knew something was horribly wrong.

 

The food in his throat did not seem to be going down. It felt stuck and he was beginning to panic.

 

He was choking.

 

“Alec?” Magnus said warily when noticed the look in his boyfriend’s eyes.

 

Alec sat there frozen for a second before his body took over as it tried to cough the food out of him.

 

“He’s choking!” Magnus shouted to alert everyone.

 

Everyone’s smile disappeared in a moment once they realized what was happening.

 

Jace dashed around the table as quickly as he could.

 

“Stand up Alec, I’ve got you,” Jace instructed.

 

Alec tried to remain calm as he stood from the table. He felt his brother put his hands around him from the back. He pushed upwards as hard as he could.

 

All Alec could see was the terrified faces of his friends and family around him. Magnus looked to be a wreck at his side with tears in his eyes.

 

After a few pushes, Alec finally felt the food come up as he quickly grabbed a napkin to spit it in.

 

He felt an immense rush of relief as he could finally feel the air passing through him again. He immediately sat down to catch his breath as he ignored the worried questions from everyone.  

 

“Everyone just shut up and give him a second!” Jace shouted holding up his palm to the group.

 

“Deep breaths, Alec. Just focus.” His brother instructed with his hand on his shoulder.

 

_I’m okay_ , he signed weakly. _It just went down wrong, I swear._

Magnus watched helplessly as Izzy walked over to squat in front of her brother and grabbed his hands reassuringly. “Alec, you know I love you so much. I’m sorry but we can’t just ignore that this happened. If you don’t tell mom and dad, then I will,” she said sternly.

 

“Iz, is right man. We need to get you to the doctor,” Jace added.

 

Magnus’s head was spinning. “Okay! What is happening?” he finally bursted out after he couldn’t take it anymore.  

 

Alec looked up at Magnus and reached over to grab his hand. He really didn’t want to have to tell him the reason why his family was freaking out over this.

 

Luckily, Lydia seemed to notice his apprehension. “Um… well, after Alec completed his treatment the doctor told about some warning signs. Trouble swallowing was the number one sign of cancer reoccurrence.”

 

Alec’s head shot up at his best friend. He had been thinking it, but hearing it out loud was another thing. This was something that he was hoping he would never have to deal with again.

 

He could feel the tears forming in his eyes. He stood quickly from the table. _Excuse me_ , he signed quickly as he ran for the bathroom. He could hear everyone calling him from the table but he was too upset to turn around, he knew he was about to lose it.  


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm dedicating this chapter to a loved-one who is currently battling throat cancer, she is always so strong and tries her best to stay positive. 
> 
>  
> 
> Like a lot of us, I am hoping that there is a way to save Shadowhunters, a show that I love so much. But if not, just remember that these characters can always live on in our stories.

Chapter 14

 

Alec pushed the bathroom door open and immediately slid down onto the tile floor. His legs felt like jelly and his head was spinning, he didn’t even care how dirty it was around him. All he could think was that he couldn’t believe this was actually happening to him again.

 

His life was finally beginning to seem normal, his parents were treating him the same as they do for his siblings, he finally had a group of friends that he felt comfortable with, and he had finally found Magnus.

 

He could feel the tears stinging his eyes and he couldn’t do anything to stop them. He was scared to accept that he was probably sick again. He didn’t want to go back to all the doctor appointments and the isolation from life that came with it.

 

Alec was interrupted from his thoughts by a knock at the door.

 

“Darling… please open the door,” Magnus said calmly. Alec hadn’t locked it but he knew Magnus would be patient enough for him to wait until he was ready to open it.

 

Alec didn’t want Magnus to see him like this. He lifted himself up and splashed some cool water on his face before opening the door to let his boyfriend in.

 

As soon as Magnus saw him though, Alec knew he hadn’t been fooled. His eyes were probably all splotchy and red.

 

_I’m sorry I ran away from you all. I just needed a minute to myself_ , Alec explained.

 

Magnus moved forward and embraced Alec in a tight hug. He turned his head to whisper in his ear.

 

“Hey, you have nothing to apologize for, you have every right to be upset. You don’t have to face this alone, Alexander.”

 

Alec pushed back and away from Magnus’s arms and shook his head back and forth. _No, you don’t know what you are saying. Things could get really bad Magnus, I won’t make you stick around for that_ , he signed frantically.

 

Magnus didn’t respond right away. He grabbed Alec’s hand and gently rubbed soothing circles on his palm. Alec knew this likely meant that Magnus was finally understanding what he was saying and was probably going to tell him that they were over.

 

Alec’s head was looking down in defeat until he felt Magnus’s hand lift it up with his fingers.

 

“I’m not going anywhere. I love you, Alexander. And we will get through this together,” Magnus said with confidence.

 

Alec couldn’t believe what he had just heard. There was no way Magnus was in love with him.

_You don’t have to say that to try to make me feel better_ , Alec quickly responded.

 

Magnus giggled in frustration, “How can you not see it? I’ve been in love with you for a while now, and like an idiot, I just never said it until now. This has nothing to do with the fact that you might be sick again.”

 

Magnus sighed and rubbed his hands over his face, “Please, please don’t shut me out.”

 

Alec took a long deep breath before answering, _you really love me?_

 

Magnus stepped forward and put a hand on either side of Alec’s face. “Yes, I really love you.”

 

Alec unconsciously lunged his body forward closing the small gap in between them and captured Magnus’s lips in a kiss. He was so lucky in life to find Magnus as a partner, even if he hadn’t been so lucky in other ways in regards to his health.

 

He could have kept kissing Magnus like this forever but unfortunately, they were interrupted by reality when another customer knocked at the bathroom door.

 

They both were startled out of the moment. “Sorry, be out in a minute,” Magnus muttered breathlessly.

 

Magnus went to grab the door handle but his hand was quickly swatted away by Alec’s. _Wait, one more second_ , he signed nervously.  

 

Alec paused for a moment before continuing on in signing something he was never really sure he would get to say to another person like he was going to with Magnus.

 

_I love you too._

Magnus couldn’t help the tears starting to form in his eyes. “Well, that settles it then. I guess we are stuck together no matter what, my love. Now, let’s get out of here before someone tries to knock the door down,” he said with a smirk.

 

Alec knew he’d have to leave the safety of the bathroom eventually, but he really didn’t know how he was going to deal with all the sad faces staring back at him at the table. He grabbed on to Magnus’s hand a little tighter as they walked back towards the group.

 

He was quickly embraced by Jace and Izzy who were both squeezing him a bit too hard. Jace was holding it together but Izzy had tears in her eyes.

 

“I’m so sorry, Alec. I’m so sorry,” she kept repeating between sobs.

 

Alec did what he did best as a big brother and drew gentle circles in the small of her back until she was able to pull it together.

 

Once Jace and Izzy had finally let go, Alec was able to address the group.

 

_I think I’m ready to head back home if that’s okay with you guys. Thank you all for always being there for me. I love having all of you as friends. Now, we don’t know anything for sure yet, so let’s all just try and relax until I get to the doctor, okay?_ He signed slowly so that Izzy could translate to Simon.

 

Alec got a round of assured smiles and nods in return. He took a few minutes to say goodbye to Lydia properly, he hated that his time with her had gotten cut short like this. But, with everything happening, she was planning for a visit to Idris very soon so he wouldn’t need to wait too long to see her again.

 

The ride home seemed to take forever, the van was eerily quiet the whole way home. Alec was so used to the near constant chatter of his friends around him that the silence was killing him. He knows that they didn’t mean anything by it but he just wished they could all be as happy as they were before they walked into the diner this afternoon.

 

And the one thing that was really getting to him was that Simon of all people hadn’t said a word since leaving the diner. His new friend was never this quiet and it was driving him crazy. He was driving in silence the whole way back to Idris. So Alec decided that he could either sit here torturing himself or he could do something about it.

 

He bumped Magnus’s elbow to wake him from his stare at the cars next to them. _Hey, can you ask Simon if he has any of his own music to play, I haven’t heard him yet._

Magnus smiled and gave Alec’s hand a quick kiss. “Simon!” he yelled startling the whole group out of their funk. “Alec is requesting to hear some of your music, so show us what you got!”

 

And Alec’s plan had worked, the conversation and smiles quickly heated up again. Simon was shouting about his latest stuff and moving from track to track on his CD player. Clary was groaning and teasing him saying that she has heard all of this enough. And the rest of the group was jokingly reviewing him as if he was a contestant on American Idol.

 

 

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

 

Magnus yawned loudly and rubbed at his tired eyes before rolling out of bed to get in the shower. He hadn’t slept well at all last night, but instead, he rolled around with his thoughts of Alec consuming him.

 

It had been two days since their New York trip had taken such a dark turn for all of them. Cat and Rag were allowing him to skip school today so that he could go to the oncology doctor’s appointment with Alec and his mom this morning.

 

He would never tell Alec this, but he was scared shitless. Every nerve ending in his body felt like it was on edge. He was hoping that today would end in good news and that he could tell everyone that it had been a false alarm.

 

The love of his life didn’t deserve this. And Magnus knew that nobody deserved to have to deal with cancer but he couldn’t help but feel like if Alec had already dealt with this once then it should be over and done with for him.

But when was life ever fair. If things were fair, his mother would still be alive, his father would be in prison, Alec would have his voice and he would have never been sick in the first place.

 

But Magnus knew that he couldn’t let himself have a pity party today. He needed to be strong and supportive in any way he could for Alec, so he was going to muster up every ounce of courage he had for his boyfriend.

 

He got ready quicker than he ever had before, eager to get over to Alec’s house as soon as possible. He ran out to the car after saying a quick goodbye to Catarina and headed over a bit earlier than he probably needed too.

 

Magnus wasn’t surprised to see Maryse at the other side of the door looking perfectly put together. He had never seen her looking any other way. Luckily for him, their relationship had improved immensely with time, he didn’t mind spending a day with her today, knowing Alec would likely be busy with tests.

 

“Magnus, you’re early. Please, come in. Do you want some breakfast?” she asked calmly as if they weren’t going to the hospital soon.

 

When they had come home from the city the other day and Alec explained to his parents everything that had happened, Maryse and Robert seemed oddly calm about it all to him, but he didn’t want to judge how they coped with things. Maybe like him, they thought it was all going to be a false alarm.

 

“No thank you, I ate some already. Is Alec upstairs?” Magnus lied, he had too many butterflies in his stomach to eat anything this morning.

 

“Yes, in his room. We’re leaving in a half hour so make sure he’s ready,” she explained.

 

Magnus nodded and headed up the stairs. He stood in the doorway for a moment just watching Alec sitting up in bed with a book. It was such a normal moment that he almost forgot everything that must be going through his head right now.

 

He knocked softly, “Hey, baby. Anything good?” he gestured towards the book in his hands.

 

Alec smiled instantaneously as soon as he saw Magnus across the room. _I’m just trying to keep my mind occupied. Not really working though, I’ve been on the same page all morning,_ he signed.

 

Magnus crawled onto the bed to cozy up next to him. “Well, I’m sure I could be a better distraction,” he said with a smile.

 

Alec leaned over to give him a morning kiss. _I’m already feeling better now that you are here._

He was more than glad to be the support Alec needed today. He could tell he had probably spent his night the same way tossing and turning from the look of the dark circles around his eyes.

 

“Come here,” Magnus gestured towards his lap. “Lie down for a bit until we have to leave, my love.”

 

Alec nodded with a small smile and laid down in Magnus’s lap. His hands instantly went to his boyfriend’s hair in hopes of relaxing him for a bit.

 

Alec’s eyes shut quickly as he relaxed into Magnus’s touch as he combed through his brown locks softly. He never stopped his movements, especially as he felt Alec’s body get heavier and heavier in his lap.

 

He let his hands travel down his face as his fingers memorized every inch of it. The only sound in the room was Alec’s light snore coming through his nose every few seconds, a sound that Magnus now loved more than any in the world.

 

The moment passed to quickly as the boys heard Maryse yell from below that it was time to leave.

Magnus looked into his Alec’s eyes, “Come on, darling. I’m here with you every step.”

 

Alec dropped his head and shut his eyes tight for a moment before opening them. _I love you Magnus_ , he simply signed in return.

 

 

 

 

~~~~~~

 

 

 

Magnus was a little disappointed when they arrived at the doctor’s office, and a mere two minutes into being by Alec’s side holding his hand tightly, they were separated so that he could get an MRI scan done.

 

Of course, he knew that was why they were there, but he only wished he could be with Alec at all moments. Now he was just sitting in the waiting room next to Maryse with his leg bouncing up and down.

 

“Stop fidgeting, Magnus,” Maryse scolded. “Look, honey. This is likely going to be the first of a long string of appointments and waiting rooms so you need to learn how to deal with it if you are planning on being here.”

 

Magnus took a deep breath in, “So, that’s it. You really think his cancer is back?”

 

As soon as he said it he could finally see the sadness in her eyes, “Unfortunately yes. He has definitely lost some weight recently and with the episodes of choking, I am almost sure. I would do anything for me to be wrong but I don’t think that is going to happen.”

 

Magnus felt the same way, he would do anything in the world to stop this from happening to the man he loved. But if it was indeed happening then he was going to do anything he could to help him through it.

 

Alec never liked to talk about when he was sick. It was something that Magnus never really pressed with him. He had known he had cancer but that was about it. He didn’t blame him for not explaining it either, he probably wanted to move on from it in any way he could. But now Magnus felt like he really did need to know more, especially if it was back.

 

“Um, Maryse? What was it called the type of cancer he had?” Magnus asked with an apologetic smile.

 

“It’s okay, Magnus. You can ask me anything. I rather we be open with each other. It’s called rhabdomyosarcoma. The tumor was wrapped up in his vocal cords which is why he lost his voice during the surgery to remove the tumor. We had done chemotherapy as well because it was supposed to stop it from ever growing back but clearly that didn’t work,” she explained.

 

Magnus sat there quietly listening to her further explain Alec’s past. His heart broke as he thought of Alec going through this as a child. He smiled when she spoke of how brave he always was around his siblings so that they wouldn’t be scared when they visited him in the hospital.

 

It took about an hour for the test to be done. Magnus shot up from his seat as soon as he saw Alec come back out from the procedure room. “Are you okay, darling?”

 

_I’m okay. Dr. Stanhope will call us back when she has the results, she said it won’t take long_ , Alec signed before taking back Magnus’s hand and heading back to wait in the chairs.

 

Maryse wasn’t kidding about needing to have patience. It had taken another hour before the three of them were sitting in front of the doctor’s desk.

 

As soon as she sat down in front of them, Magnus could tell it wasn’t going to be good news.

 

“So the scan did show that there has been a reoccurrence, I’m so sorry Alec. Relapses for rhabdo are fairly uncommon, only affecting 9% of people….” Dr. Stanhope muttered.

 

Magnus had stopped comprehending anything she was saying very early on in the conversation. All he heard were a lot of statistics and big words that didn’t make any sense to him. He felt like his heart was going to pound out of his chest.  

 

He was startled from his thoughts when Alec squeezed his hand lightly, “I’m listening, darling. Don’t worry about me,” he replied reassuringly. He was going to try and remember as much of this conversation as he could so that he could look up everything later on.

 

_So, what is the next step?_ Alec asked, Maryse stepping in to translate quickly.

 

“Well, we will need to do another surgery, the tumor has grown to a significant size where it is affecting your swallowing so it will need to be removed. And I recommend aggressive treatment with chemotherapy afterward as well.”

 

“We will do whatever we need to do to get better, right Alec?” Maryse asked nervously.

 

_Of course I will, Mom_. Alec responded.

 

Maryse let out a deep breath, “Alec is on board with the plan,” she said to Dr. Stanhope. “When can we schedule the surgery?”

 

Magnus couldn’t believe that they were already discussing surgery dates, things had escalated so quickly that his head was spinning. He was so overwhelmed that he couldn’t even imagine what Alec was feeling.

 

His boyfriend was distracted on the ride home just looking out the window with a stunned expression on his face. Alec had decided to sit in the back seat with Magnus so that he could keep hold of his hand as if it was there lifeline to each other.

 

He had scheduled his surgery for November 10th, in less than two weeks. The doctor had advised him not to wait too long in case the tumor was fast growing. He was also told to change to a soft food diet only to protect his airway from another chocking episode.

 

Magnus unclasped his hands from Alec’s so that he could use them to sign. He so badly wanted to ask him how he was feeling but didn’t want to alert Maryse of their conversation.

 

_How are you really doing?_ Magnus signed.

 

Alec quickly realized that Magnus was trying to give them a private moment. _I don’t know to be honest. I’m a little sad, a little angry and a little tired_ , he responded.

 

_That’s understandable. It’s okay if you don’t know how to feel right now. I’m sure it’ll take some time to process things._

_Are you okay? If this is too much, you know I wouldn’t hold it against you if it was,_ Alec asked.

 

Magnus quickly shook his head back in forth in response. _I love you Alexander, and we are in this together._

Small tears were forming in Alec’s eyes without his consent. _Well, that’s good, because I am ready to fight. I’ll do whatever it takes to get me a future with you._

Similar tears where now in Magnus’s eyes. Instead of responding he just laid his head on Alec’s shoulder and closed his eyes for the rest of the journey home.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the long wait.   
> Things have been crazy for me this summer.  
> I was feeling so overwhelmed that I had stopped writing.  
> Then I realized that I am much less stressed when I am writing and being creative so the joke was on me!

 

Chapter 15

 

To say that the last week had been tough would be an understatement. Alec tried to do his best in school but his mind just couldn’t seem to focus. He had failed a math exam for the first time ever, the test had completely slipped his mind so he had to do his best without studying, which clearly had not been enough. His parents were less than happy with his results.

 

But what scared him the most was that he was beginning to have a near constant ache in the back of his throat. At first, he thought it was his mind playing tricks on him, he had just woken up one morning with the pain and then it never really went away.

 

He emailed Dr. Stanhope about it and unfortunately, she didn’t have anything good to say about it. Apparently, according to the scans she took a week ago, she was surprised that he hadn’t complained of any pain before then. She offered him a prescription for pain medication but he declined, he didn’t want to be any less clear-headed than he already felt.

 

This was going to be a big weekend for him. It was his last weekend before he had to become a patient again. But the thing he was most looking forward to was that it was Magnus’s birthday.

 

Alec really wanted to make it as special as he could for Magnus. He had been his rock through all of this and he was falling in love with him more and more each day. He wanted Magnus to have the best birthday ever, he wanted to show him just how much he meant to him.

 

So, in order to pull off the best birthday ever he was going to need some help, so he enlisted his siblings who were more than happy to. The four of them were all sitting on Alec’s bed as he tried to explain his plan and what they all needed to do to help him execute it. Even Max was happily sitting in Alec’s lap trying to come up with ideas, although Alec didn’t really think Magnus wanted a bouncy castle and a magician.

 

“But Alec, do you really think mom and dad are going to let you do this?” Izzy said with a sad smile. “I mean they’ve always kept you on a tight leash and with everything that’s going on, I really don’t see this happening.”

 

“I’ll help you to talk to them bro. I really think that you and Magnus deserve this. We’ll get through to them somehow,” Jace added.

 

Alec understood their apprehension, his parents had always been strict with him but he was really hoping that they would just lighten up for something that was this important to him.

 

_It’s one night away from home. I just want Magnus and I to have one night completely to ourselves. I want to take him out and just be able to give him the best birthday ever,_ Alec explained.

 

“I know you do, big bro. So, just be ready to fight for it. We’ll be right there with you,” Izzy said.

 

“Yea, we got your back,” said Jace.

 

Izzy put her hand in the middle of the circle they had made, “Team Malec, on three,” she said with a smile.

 

Alec rolled his eyes but still added his hand to the bunch. His heart quickly melted when he heard his little brother scream “Team Malec” on the top of his lungs causing them all to smile a little wider.

 

_You with me, Maxie?_ Alec signed slowly.

 

“Let’s do it,” he said in his cutest imitation of a wrestler he could muster from his tiny body.

 

One by one they lifted themselves up and off the bed, but before Alec could leave the room, his brother pushed him back slightly out of hearing range from Izzy who was carrying Max.

 

“Are you planning on…. well you know…. with Magnus?” Jace asked.

 

Alec wasn’t embarrassed by his question, Jace and Alec had told each other everything over the years and he knew that his brother would never judge him. _I think so, I may not get another chance with my surgery coming up,_ Alec explained with a slight blush on his cheek.

 

A lot of his memories as a kid from when he was sick had seemed to fade in his brain as time passed, his doctor told him it is an amnesia effect for things that are too awful to keep re-living.

 

But one thing he did remember was how exhausted he always felt, even the short walk from the couch to the bathroom would leave him wanting to nap afterward. He knew he wouldn’t have the energy for much once he started treatment and he wanted to experience everything he could with Magnus before that happened.

 

Jace shook his head in understanding, “We need to make this happen.” Jace came forward for a hug before joining the others downstairs. Jace knew it would likely take them all for their parents to understand how important this was.

 

Alec took his time signing out what the plan was for the weekend to his parents. He started with Friday in the city with just Magnus and him, and then discussed the party on Saturday at Magnus’s house that was a surprise that he was coordinating with Catarina. Alec could already tell by the expression on his mother’s face that she was not going to be okay with this.

 

“Absolutely not!” Maryse shouted. “I can’t believe you would even suggest something like this in your current situation. You need to be home and closely monitored, you can’t even eat solid food right now.”

 

His perfect weekend was slowly crumbling away once Alec had explained the part where he and Magnus would stay overnight alone in the city. But he was determined to fight for this.

 

_Jace and Izzy stay over friend’s houses all the time and you’ve never said a thing about it,_ Alec replied back. _It should be no different for me. I’ve already booked us a hotel room close to where the Broadway show is that we’ll be seeing. I’d be closer to a hospital in the city than I would be home here._

“So you think just because you’ve already spent money on this that we’ll suddenly be okay with you going, is that it? I’m so sick of you bringing up your siblings as bargaining chips, you need to start realizing that you are different,” Maryse shouted.

 

That seemed to be the last straw for everyone at the table.

 

“That’s not fair, mom!” Izzy shouted.

 

“Alec is no different than any of us, how dare you tell him that cancer should define him,” Jace exclaimed as he stood from his seat enraged.

 

“Don’t be so dramatic Jace. He needs to be more responsible about keeping himself healthy, not worrying about Birthday celebrations,” Maryse replied as she rolled her eyes.

 

“Everybody just calm down!” Robert interrupted loudly with his first words into the conversation. “I agree with your mother, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be staying up all night in the city, right now. You need to keep your strength up.”

 

Alec was getting tired of hearing his parents tell him he needed to stay healthy. The truth of the matter was that he wasn’t healthy, and he wasn’t going to be by sitting on the couch all day eating mashed potatoes.

 

He needed his parents to understand he was going to do whatever he needed to do to make this happen. Alec was getting more frustrated by the minute as his pace quickened as he signed to his family.

_I need you both to really listen to me. I have always done what you have asked of me. All those weekends I stayed home and took care of Max when everyone else was out living their lives. I never realized why I never put up a fight until I actually had something worth fighting for. Magnus means everything to me, and I want to give him the best birthday ever._

Alec paused for a moment before continuing, unsure of how far he wanted to push them.

 

_Look, I know I don’t bring it up a lot because I really do believe in positivity, but you need to realize that this could literally be the only time I get to do something like this. Feel well enough to do something like this. Dr. Stanhope said we needed to be more aggressive with treatment this time and I’m okay with that but I can’t even imagine how much worse it’s going to get._

His words were met with five pairs of tearing up eyes. He didn’t like to talk about his fears with his family because he hated seeing them upset but he knew this was the only way to get them to listen.

 

Maryse wiped her cheek, “Honey, you’ll have plenty of time for things like this once this is all over.”

 

Alec’s hands started moving before he even realized what he was saying.

 

_And if I don’t make it through, then what?_

 

He had squeezed his eyes shut tight once he realized what he had said. He didn’t mean for things to get this dark. What he had just expressed was something that he meant to keep deep down inside himself and never intended to share with his family, knowing the pain it would cause them.

 

As he was about to try and apologize for even thinking something like that, he felt himself being embraced by what seemed to be everyone in the room.

 

When he finally opened his eyes, he realized it really was every member of his family. Each of them had silent tears in their eyes. His mom had the tightest grip on him as she moved her hand in small circles on his back.

 

After a few moments, they all seemed to be calming down. Everyone had retreated to their respective places and were trying to take deep breaths. Nobody had really spoken since Alec’s confession.

 

Surprisingly, Robert was the first to break the silence. He sighed loudly, “Alec, I want you to give your mom and I a night to think about it… I understand how much this means to you, please know that we aren’t against you, we just want to keep you safe and healthy.”

 

Robert then stood and crouched down in front of Alec. He placed his hand gently on his son’s knee. “And I don’t want you to ever feel like you can’t tell us exactly how you are feeling about all of this. It’s perfectly okay to have fears. We love you and are always here for you.”

 

Alec leaned forward wrapping his arms tightly around his father. He hadn’t meant to share all of this with his family but he somehow felt better about them knowing.

 

Even though his plans for the weekend were still up in the air, he gestured to his siblings to head up the stairs to give his parents some space. Alec couldn’t help but smile when they all headed straight for his room.

 

Izzy seemed to notice his smirking, “What? Tonight definitely calls for a sleepover!”

 

Jace nodded his head in agreement as Max ran down the hall to the closet pulling the sleeping bags out.

 

Alec was so thankful for his siblings every day. He loved them so much. He wanted nothing more than to spend the night with them. They always knew exactly what to do to cheer him up.

 

They spent hours that night talking and laughing about everything going on with all of them. Max had fallen asleep much earlier than his older siblings which allowed the three of them to talk much more openly about their relationships. Alec was so happy to hear that Simon and had finally made a move on Izzy, and that they had a date lined up for Friday.

 

As Alec finally turned on his side to close his eyes he couldn’t have been happier after tonight. The words cancer or surgery hadn’t been muttered once the whole time and he was more than grateful for that. He tried to let sleep take him as best he could but his thoughts about Magnus’s birthday kept swimming around in his head.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

 

 

By some miracle, Alec found himself walking hand in hand with Magnus down the streets of New York towards the theater. He was smiling ear to ear, he couldn’t wait to see Magnus’s reaction when they reached their destination, as he wanted to keep the plan for the evening a surprise.

 

Alec was startled from his own thoughts by his boyfriend then, “Are you cold, my love?” Magnus asked as he rubbed his hands up and down his arms.

 

_I’m fine, Mags. I promise. I wasn’t even allowed to leave the house until I had at least five layers of clothing on per my mother_ , Alec signed.

 

Magnus chuckled, “I still can’t believe you were able to get her to agree to this. This is already the best Birthday I’ve ever had!”

 

It hadn’t been easy convincing his parents to agree to this weekend, but by some miracle they had told him he was allowed to go. He still wasn’t completely sure what had changed their minds but he definitely wasn’t going to argue with their decision.

 

“But you do know…I would have been just as happy to have spent the whole weekend at home with you. I’m not sure where we you are taking me, but are you sure you are up to it?” Magnus added.

 

Alec smirked and shook his head before leaning in for a kiss. _Yes. I am absolutely sure. You deserve the most amazing birthday, something special, no…something magical. And I will give you nothing less. Now stop talking and more walking or we are going to be late._ Alec tugged at his boyfriend’s hand to get him moving again.

 

Magnus was more than touched about how much work Alec had put into this for him. He had never known someone to treat him so nicely as he did. He had butterflies in his stomach thinking about it. And although a part of Magnus would always be thinking about Alec’s health and upcoming surgery, he was going to do his best to be present in the moment for Alec.

 

“Oh my god, no way?” Magnus squealed as they rounded the corner to where they were going. Alec nodded his head with a smile. “Ahhh, I can’t believe this! We’re actually going to see Wicked?”

 

_Well, I knew how much you wanted to see it, so I thought this would be the perfect time. Lydia’s dad works in theater and he was able to get me the tickets_ , Alec explained.

 

“But…how did you know? I’ve been dying to see this for years!”

 

Alec blushed slightly, _You mentioned it… it was a while back, but it was at lunch one day, it was before we were even together_.

 

Magnus wrapped his arms around Alec’s slender figure. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he hummed like a mantra as he placed soft kisses all over Alec’s face. They spent a few moments in the cold just happy to be in each other’s arms before heading in.

 

Alec tried his best to get into the show, but he couldn’t help but be distracted by looking over and watching Magnus’s expressions. He looked goofy happy and Alec smirked every time he started to mouth along to the words of the songs.

 

The evening was going perfectly, Magnus had honestly never had a better Birthday. “That was incredible, Alexander. Thank you so much for taking me. It was better than I could have ever imagined,” he said as he grasped Alec’s hand and kissed it softly.

 

_I’m so glad you loved it, I was afraid it wouldn’t be as good as you were hoping it would be_ , Alec replied.

 

“Are you kidding? It was even better, and I got to see it with you which was my favorite part.”

 

The two were making their way down the street at a strolling pace, it was a cold but mild night out so there was no need to rush back to the hotel. They both knew they wanted to take their time, they were going to cherish each moment they could.

 

Since moving to Idris, Alec hadn’t realized how much he missed the city streets. This trip was making his wish for a future in the city with Magnus even more real, he would love nothing more than to move here and start a life with him after graduation.

 

Alec paused his steps for a moment and pointed across the street to gain Magnus’s attention, _See that bookstore there_? His boyfriend nodded and pushed in closer to his side.

 

_Lydia and I would spend almost every weekend there. There’s this great little space in the back we would write in. The owner was so nice, he would always let us stay all day. He even let us stay after closing once when we were on a roll with one of our stories_ , Alec explained.

 

“That sounds amazing, darling. Hey, we should go back in the morning, I mean if we have time. I’m sure it’d be nice to go in again.”Alec nodded with a smile, it was a great idea.

 

They continued on stopping once more to get some ice cream before heading in for the night. Alec had to stick to soup for dinner so he was more than grateful for Magnus’s suggestion for some dessert.

 

 

 

 

~~~~~~~

 

 

 

“Oh… Darling, you should not have let me eat that much ice cream,” Magnus muttered as he laid down on the bed groaning. Not only had he finished his own cone, but he helped Alec finish his cup of coffee ice cream as well.

 

Alec stood at the other side of the room removing the first and second layers of clothing he had on. After the walk, he was plenty warm and definitely needed out of all his layers.

 

_It’s your Birthday Mags, you can eat as much ice cream as you want._ Alec signed. He walked over to the bed to curl up next to him. He draped his hand over Magnus’s stomach and began massaging it in small circles.

 

Magnus turned onto his side, his eyes were closed but he had a big smile on his face. “I love you so much, Alexander. What did I ever do to deserve you?”

 

Alec couldn’t help but laugh inside, he often asked himself the same question about him. He knew he was the lucky one, even if Magnus didn’t see it that way.

 

He watched as his boyfriend yawned loudly and dramatically. “Should we get ready for bed?”

 

Alec moved his hands up towards Magnus’s face, gently moving up and down until his boyfriend opened his eyes again. He then shook his head back and forth, Alec had no plans to go to bed just yet.

 

“No? You must be tired.”

 

_Not at all actually_ , Alec paused for a moment to make sure he had Magnus’s full attention.

_Magnus, I want us to have sex tonight._

Any tiredness Magnus he had felt suddenly dissipated. He shot up onto his elbow and looked as deep as he could into Alec’s eyes. “Are you sure? I mean why now?”

 

Alec knew Magnus was going to make him explain himself. They had talked about it before and Magnus had always said how much he wanted Alec to be completely sure.

 

_Because I’m ready and I love you, I don’t want to wait any longer_ , Alec explained with a set expression on his face.

 

Magnus reached down to grab a hold of Alec’s hand. “I love you too. I’m just a little worried that you are rushing into this because of your surgery.”

 

Alec sat up so he could explain to Magnus as directly as possible about how he was feeling. _Look, to be honest, I do think a part of me is influenced by what I am going through. But I can’t help but feel like our relationship bliss is about to get rudely interrupted._

 

Magnus’s mouth opened slightly as if to say something, Alec knew he probably wasn’t yet understanding what he was trying to say. He quickly put his hand up, _No, please… just let me finish_ , Alec begged.

 

Magnus sighed but nodded silently.

 

_We both promised each other that we were in this together. That we would both fight our hardest to beat this thing_ , Alec explained as he gestured up to his throat.

 

_So what I’m trying to say is that we deserve this, we deserve to share this experience together when we both want it, and when we are both healthy and strong enough to enjoy it._

Magnus had heard enough, all he needed to hear was that they were in this together. Those were the words that allowed Magnus to act on what he had been thinking about for a very long time, he surged forward capturing Alec’s lips in a kiss.

 

They spent a few moments rolling around on the bed just enjoying the feel of each other’s lips until they needed to come up for air.

 

_So, I’m guessing you agree then?_ Alec asked with a smile.

 

“Yes, my love. But, now I need to ask… How well did you actually think this through? Do I need to make a CVS run? Magnus giggled.

 

Alec got up from his spot on the bed and went to his bag. Magnus was pleasantly surprised to see exactly what they needed be thrown onto the bed.

 

_Jace and I went to the store yesterday_ , Alec confessed with a blush.

 

Instead of waiting for Alec to come back over, Magnus stood and walked over to him. He grasped Alec’s hips to pull him forward, he stood frozen for a moment to look into those gorgeous eyes that he fell in love with before leaning in for a kiss.

 

The two made their back to the bed but this time with a lot less clothing. Magnus was over Alec’s body straddling him while his mouth focused on Alec’s neck. His excitement heightened as he felt Alec’s arousal underneath.

 

Before Magnus got too carried away he knew he needed to pause. Alec’s hands tried to pull him back down as he moved his upper body back. “Just a minute, darling,” he giggled. He loved how lost in the moment Alec seemed to be. Magnus leaned back and grabbed the supplies on the bed.

 

“Do you want to top or bottom first?” Magnus stated as matter of factly as he could. Whenever the two would talk about sex, something they both agreed on was that they both wanted to experience each other in every way they could.

 

Alec had one of the most expressive faces Magnus had ever seen, a quality that he had absolutely fell in love with. He could tell Alec was taking a few moments to think about it. He didn’t want this experience to be rushed in any way, they had all night to be together.

 

_Bottom, I want to bottom first_ , Alec signed slowly but surely.

 

Magnus leaned forward and captured Alec’s lips in a deep kiss. Their tongues danced around fighting for dominance for what seemed like hours until Magnus continued his way down Alec’s chest.

 

He couldn’t help but smirk as Alec squirmed underneath him. He licked and kissed every inch of Alec’s abdomen leaving gentle marks in his wake. But Magnus made sure to pause with his hand hooked underneath Alec’s shorts.

 

Alec soon realized that Magnus was waiting for another sign that he was sure he was ready for this. _Keep going, Mags_ , he signed reassuringly.

 

“Just checking my love,” Magnus muttered before pulling his shorts down and off the bed. He made quick work of his own as well. Magnus moved back up to his boyfriends face, it felt incredible to be this close and to not have anything in the way of feeling one another. “I love you Alexander.”

 

_I love you too Magnus_ , he answered before leaning into yet another kiss. 

 

The two spent hours together that night learning every inch of each other’s body. It was a closeness that Magnus had never felt before. And although he knew it wasn’t possible, he would have been happy to stay in this bubble with Alec for the rest of their lives.

 

 

 

 

~~~~~~~

The night in the city had gone even better than planned. They had an amazing time enjoying the city together, Magnus had gotten even more excited than Alec could have hoped for about seeing the show.

 

Alec had woken up feeling a little sore but nothing he hadn’t expected after making love several times the night before, he couldn’t have asked for a more loving and caring partner. He turned over in the bed to gently coax his boyfriend awake.  

 

“Hmmm…good morning, darling,” Magnus muttered, he turned onto his side towards Alec bringing his hand up to stroke his face.

 

Alec watched as his forehead began to wrinkle, Magnus groaned quietly. “Oh well,” he said with a giggle, “I’m a little sore today, my dear.”

 

He smiled and shifted in as close as he could to Magnus. _Glad it’s not just me_ , he answered.

 

Magnus smirked, “Well, we have that nice Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom. Care to join me for a bath?”

 

When Magnus walked away to get the tub running, Alec raced over to his phone to make sure that the second part of his plan was underway.

 

**Alec: Hey Cat, Magnus and I will be heading out of the city around 2 pm. Does that give you enough time on your end?**

**Catarina: Yes, that’s plenty! He’s going to be so excited. When is Jace going to pick up the grand finale?**

**Alec: He’s going at noon. He’s coming a little late to the party that way there’s no risk that it’s spoiled accidentally.**

**Catarina: Sounds great, see you both in a bit.**

Alec’s heart was pounding hard, he couldn’t wait to give Magnus his big surprise. This was something that he and Catarina had talked about a lot. Alec had thought of the idea a while back and he needed her permission before he went through with it.

 

Magnus had pouted when they got on the train to leave the city, he had admitted that he didn’t want this moment to end. If he only knew what was waiting at home for him he would be just as eager as Alec to get back home.

 

Alec made sure to text Catarina to get set when they were pulling up at Magnus’s driveway. The second the door swung open everyone in the room popped up screaming “SURPRISE”. It had gone perfectly, just like Alec had seen in the movies.

 

“Oh my god, oh my god. I can’t believe this! Did you do this?” Magnus asked as he grabbed Alec’s hand pulling him inside.

 

Catarina was the first to reach them, she wrapped her arms around him as tight as she could. “Yes, he did. He asked me to help him with this weeks ago!”

 

Alec had made sure that everyone who cared about Magnus was here. He was immediately overwhelmed by all his friends and family, even Raphael seemed happier than usual. Magnus always told him that his friend was secretly a lot more fun than he let on to be.

 

“Happy Birthday, man!” Raphael exclaimed before wrapping an arm around him.

 

The group sat in the living room eating and laughing as much as they could together. Magnus was sitting on the couch with Max on his lap, the two were currently making funny faces at each other, trying to beat one another for the best one.

 

“Hey, Magnus. Want to start opening some of your presents?” Izzy asked. Alec knew she was probably just as excited to see Magnus’s reaction to his gift. Jace had gotten here a little while ago and gave him thumbs up that everything was set.

 

“Presents? But I don’t need anything but all of you,” Magnus answered. Alec wasn’t sure, but he could have sworn his boyfriend had even blushed a little at all the attention.

 

Clary moved forward with her gift first, “Well too bad because we did it anyway,” she said with a smile.

 

Watching Magnus open gifts was one of the sweetest things Alec had ever witnessed. He took as much time as he could admiring each and every one. He ran his hands over the painting Clary had made for him over and over again until someone had finally jested him to move on.

 

Then he flipped through every single page of the fashion book that Izzy had gotten him. Magnus had even allowed Max to describe the birthday poster he had made for him for as long as he wanted taking time to explain every sticker and little drawing on the page.

 

As things started to wind down, Alec slipped out of the room hoping his absence wouldn’t be noticed. He opened the door to Magnus’s room and was immediately greeted by his gift. He spent a few moments playing and cuddling with him before heading back downstairs.

 

Alec reached the bottom of the steps, he immediately gestured to Catarina to get Magnus’s attention. “Oh Mags, I think you might have missed one.”

 

“What! You are all spoiling me ro…” Magnus was stunned into silence when he finally turned around. His hands shot up to his face, tears began to form in his eyes.

 

Alec walked over to Magnus and handed the kitten over, in perfect timing he purred as soon as he reached Magnus’s arms. 

 

_It’s a boy, I picked him out at the shelter last weekend for you. He’s the sweetest, loves to cuddle, but also playful._ Alec reached up to scratch under his chin like he knew the kitten loved.

_Funny too, he kept pawing at my face the last time I visited him_ , Alec explained.

 

“He’s perfect, Alexander. You're perfect,” Magnus said as he leaned in for a kiss. And for a moment, the two forgot they were in a room filled with people.

 

“Dios Mio, you two are too much,” Raphael exclaimed whiling rolling his eyes.

 

“Oh come on! It’s awesome, like watching a rom-com in real life,” Simon added.

 

Izzy stood from her seat to come to their aide, “Hey, that’s enough from the peanut gallery. Why don’t we give them a minute.”

 

The room cleared as everyone went to the kitchen. As soon as they were alone, Magnus surged forward for another kiss.

 

The new kitten didn’t like being ignored for long, he stood and poked his face up right in between them.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry cutie. Aren’t you just adorable,” Magnus gushed. “What’s his name, darling?”

 

_That’s up to you to decide_ , he signed with a big smile. _But take some time to think about it, I know you will come up with something wonderful._

After a few minutes, they went to join the group in the kitchen for cake and ice cream. Max had taken an immediate liking to the kitten. Everyone was plenty entertained watching the two chase each other for the rest of the evening. Eventually, they both tired out, the party ended with a sleeping kitten in Magnus’s lap and a sleeping Max in Alec’s.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

 

Magnus was trying his best to be as calm as possible, he didn’t want Alec to know how much he was freaking out inside. He thought he was ready for this but now that the day had finally come for Alec’s surgery he was more nervous than he has ever felt in his whole life.

 

He sat in the chair next to the stretcher gripping Alec’s hand like it was a lifeline, rubbing small circles with his thumb to the back of his hand as they waited.

 

He hated seeing Alec like this, he was reduced to wear a thin cotton gown which looked cold and scratchy. The nurses had been either poking him with needles or sticking leads and wires on him.

 

Alec had been very reserved and almost stoic the whole morning since arriving at the hospital. Magnus hated that Alec needed to put up this wall of courage at all but understood that he was trying to deal with this as best he could.

 

On the day of his surgery, Alec had said he only wanted his mom and Magnus to be there with him. He asked his family to stay at home that morning and make a pancake breakfast for Max.

 

He said he wanted them to laugh and play as if it was the perfect morning, and they of course said that they would do their best for him.

 

They had been waiting for what seemed like hours before someone finally came in. “So Alec, we are almost ready for you,” a tall, confident looking man said dressed in scrubs.

 

He quickly started to mutter about his plan like he was making a grocery list not even bothering to make eye contact with Alec, “I’ll be making two incisions on either side of the neck in order to get better visualization. I will then dissect and cauterize as I go working distally through the tumor…”

 

Magnus wasn’t sure who the man was and couldn’t help himself but be interrupt. “I’m sorry but, do you work with Dr. Stanhope?”

 

The man smirked, “She refers most of her surgical cases to me, young man.”

 

Alec turned to explain, _Dr. Stanhope is my oncologist. Dr. Ford is the surgeon that she recommended. I met him at one of the appointments you missed when you were at school._

Magnus knew he should have put up more of a fight to stay home from school to go with Alec to all his appointments. He couldn’t believe he missed the meeting of the person who is going to be cutting into his boyfriend in a few minutes.

 

As if Alec could see the wheels in Magnus’s brain turning, _Hey… don’t worry. Yea, he seems like a cocky asshole but he is definitely someone who knows his stuff so that’s why Dr. Stanhope chose him._

Magnus eyed him up and down once more. He clearly didn’t know sign language as his attitude hadn’t changed even for a second when Alec called him an asshole.

 

The tension in the room was building but luckily Maryse walked back in with two coffees, handing one to Magnus and resumed her leading role with the questions.

 

“Ah, Maryse,” Dr. Ford hummed as if he was relieved to see her. “I was just telling them about the surgery, but just wanted to go over the details again.”

 

The doctor seemed to be putting on more of a friendly mask once Alec’s mom was in the room as his eyes swept from Alec to hers as he further explained.

 

“Along with the tumor resection, I will also be placing a chemotherapy port in Alec’s chest on the left side. When you wake up there will also be a tube down your nose for nutrition and medication administration as you won’t be able to start on liquids and soft foods for about two weeks.”

 

A shiver ran down Magnus’s body, he couldn’t imagine what was going through Alec’s head right now. The more and more that this annoying doctor said the more Magnus was felt like he was going to be sick. 

 

“So, can I answer any questions?” Dr. Ford asked as he backed towards the door as to leave the room as soon as possible.

 

Magnus and Maryse look to Alec who just nods his head no with a shrug.

 

“Darling? Are you sure?” Magnus muttered. “It’s okay if you're just too overwhelmed right now, he can come back in a little bit,” he suggested as he turned to Dr. Ford to make sure he understood that he wouldn’t let him just slip away.

 

_No, questions. I mean nothing is really going to make a difference at this point, Mags. We just kind of have to go with it_ , Alec explains.

 

Magnus knows he is right. Alec said he would do everything he needed to in order to fight the cancer.

 

He just hated how it seems like he has no control whatsoever over anything. And Alec just seems resigned to let all of this happen to him, he doesn’t even seem angered over the loss of control.

 

“No questions, Dr. Ford. Thank you,” Maryse confirmed.

 

As soon as he left she had tears in her eyes, “Oh my baby, I’m so sorry you have to go through all this. If I could I would switch places with you in a heartbeat.”

 

Alec leaned forward in the bed and wrapped his arms around his mom. Magnus almost felt misplaced bearing witness to such a tender moment.

 

_Well… I would hate this even more if it was any one of you guys, so let’s just try and get through this._

They all nodded in agreement and settled back in to wait in their respective chairs. The room was eerily quiet except for the beeping of machines until they came to take Alec away.

 

“I love you, Alexander… so much. I’ll be right here when you wake up this afternoon,” Magnus said with tears in his eyes.

 

_I love you too, I’ll see you later Mags_ , he signed as he was rolled down the hall.

 

 

 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

 

 

 

Magnus and Maryse found a little corner of the hospital with a couple couches and made camp. He knew it would be a long time before he could breathe again so he tried his best to keep his brain occupied.

 

A couple hours into it Maryse finally spoke, “Sweetheart, are you sure you don’t want to head home for a bit? I know Alec wouldn’t mind if you wanted to take a break for a while.”

 

“I’m fine… really,” he responds shakily.

 

“I rather be here in case we hear anything,” Magnus responds.

 

They ate lunch fairly quietly in the cafeteria. Both of them were more pushing the food around on the plate than they were eating it.

 

It was getting to be the afternoon before anything had changed besides Magnus’s position on the couch. He had sketched for hours now and had almost filled his entire notebook with ideas. He couldn’t wait to show Alec was he had come up with.

 

“Hey, anything yet?” An anxious-looking Jace said as he jogged around the corner.

 

Both Jace and Robert looked like nervous wrecks.

 

“We tried to stay home longer but it was just getting so hard to sit there any longer,” Robert added.

 

“Izzy said she would stay behind to watch Max.”

 

Maryse stood to embrace her family, “No, nothing yet. Dr. Ford had said he would be done by now, I’m just trying to stay positive.”

 

“Hey now, I’m sure everything is fine. Who knows how long these things can take,” Robert muttered as his hand moved in circles around her back.

 

“Hey Magnus, how are you holding up?” Jace asked taking a seat next to him.

 

“I’m okay, just trying to stay calm,” he responded. “How about you? Did Max get his breakfast?”

 

Jace smiled, “You could say that! Dad made every kind of pancake…chocolate chips, banana, blueberry. Then the kid even asked for all three together so we made a whole new batch.”

 

Jace’s eyes saddened then at the happy memory, “He asked for Alec a bunch of times, he said the pancakes were still not as good as his. We just told him he was at the doctors.”

 

Magnus tried his best at a convincing smile, “Well… hopefully, Max will be able to come in a couple days for a visit. You know how much Alec will be looking forward to that.”

 

When the clock hit 7 pm, everyone really started to get antsy.

 

“No, Robert. I will not calm down. It’s been ten hours and we haven’t heard a thing. I was supposed to be there holding his hand again hours ago!” Maryse was shouting as she paced back and forth in the hall.

 

Magnus couldn’t help this feeling of doom rising in his chest. He kept trying to talk himself out of it and say that everything was fine but it was getting harder and harder to convince himself.

 

He wanted nothing more in the world right now but to have eyes on his boyfriend to know that he was going to be okay.

 

It was another 45 minutes before Maryse’s phone rang. She ran frantically to her purse to pick up the call.

 

Hello?

Yes, this is she…

Okay…

Okay…

But, surgical oncology is the 7th floor…

I don’t understand…

Oh, um yes…

Yes, I understand…

We’ll be up in a minute…

 

Magnus’s heart was beating a mile a minute as he tried to decipher her phone call.

 

She had tears in her eyes as she turned to face everyone, “He’s out of surgery. We can go see him now, he’s up on the 10th floor in the west wing,” she explained with a stunned expression on her face as she turned to walk down the hall.

 

“Wait! Maryse. What’s wrong?” Magnus pleaded to know what was going on.

 

“Yea, mom…please tell us what they said,” Jace seconded.

 

She took a deep breath and exhaled. “Well, it was all very vague. The woman said that there had been some complications which is why it had taken so long and that Alec was being taken to the surgical intensive care unit.”

 

“Complications? But she didn’t say what,” Robert asked.

 

Maryse just shook her head and started sobbing as she ran towards her husband.

 

The uncertainty of things had everyone panicking, Jace and Magnus were clinging to each other for dear life as if one would fall if the other was to let go.

 

It took a couple of minutes for everyone to compose themselves before they headed to go see Alec. They had decided together that they would walk in to see Alec without tears and with smiles on their faces, knowing that Alec would want it to be that way.

 

 

 

 


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

 

 

 

Each step Magnus took down the hall was harder than the next, he couldn’t understand why everything needed to be so complicated all the time. He knew life wasn’t going to be perfect but he was really hoping for even just a small break, especially this time.

 

A year ago, Magnus would have just drowned out this awful feeling he had with lots of alcohol. But he tried his best to remember all the good things that have happened to him this past year without it.

 

Giving up his old life had brought him so much, it had brought him the love of his life and his friends back to him. And he would continue to remind himself of this as many times as he needed to stay strong.

 

He tried to remember that this struggle would be yet another trial that they would overcome together. Alec is the strongest person he knows and Magnus is sure that he will be okay.

 

He had to be okay for Magnus’s sake.

 

The double doors leading into the ICU were large and heavy, as soon as they entered they were herded into a conference room to meet with Alec’s medical team. He took a seat in the corner numbly and waited for further instruction.

 

Dr. Ford and Dr. Stanhope shuffled in a few moments later, along with three other people he had never seen and took a seat across from them all.

 

“First off…how is everyone holding up? Maryse?” Dr. Stanhope asked with a concerned look on her face.

 

“I don’t think we really know what to feel right now, to be honest,” Maryse offered meekly. “Please tell me what’s going on with my son,” she begged.

 

Dr. Ford cleared his throat, “Well, Alec’s case was one of the toughest I have ever worked on. The tumor was highly vascularized, more than I have ever seen. It was also wrapped in a large casing of muscle tissue…”

 

“I’m sorry but what does that mean, exactly?” Magnus asked. He was already getting annoyed by Dr. Ford’s use of foreign medical terms. It was like this guy was missing his communication skills, Magnus could definitely see why he belong in an OR all day without having to interact with people.

 

“It means that there was a lot of bleeding during the procedure,” Dr. Stanhope interjected.

 

“So much so that one of my colleagues suggested we stop the surgery and leave the tumor in place…” Dr. Ford continued.

 

Everyone’s face fell at that news, knowing that if the tumor was still there it would not be good for Alec.

 

“But…” Dr. Ford added, “I continued on, it wasn’t easy but I was able to complete the resection. Alec had his entire blood volume replaced, at one point it was one bag of blood in for every movement I made, which is why the surgery took so long.”

 

“So… if you were able to get the tumor out…then...then... he is going to be okay?” Robert asked with tears in his eyes.

 

Dr. Stanhope nodded her head, “Yes, Robert. Alec’s going to be okay, he still has a long road ahead of him though. Alec is still very unstable at this time, he is going to continue to bleed until his body can catch up and begin to clot again. So in the meantime we will be giving him blood products.”

 

“Well, he has had blood transfusions in the past when he was a child and he seemed to react fine to it, so I don’t understand why this is such big news.”

 

“This is a much more severe case, Maryse. His blood pressure is very low because of all the blood loss, we are currently keeping him on medication that increases blood pressure for him,” Dr. Stanhope explained.

 

“Alec will need to stay intubated and sedated while we work to stabilize him. He still has a breathing tube in and may need to go back to surgery in a few days if the bleeding persists,” Dr. Ford interjected.

 

“You mean… he isn’t awake?” Maryse asks as if she finally understood the magnitude of the situation.

 

“No, I’m afraid not. We will know more in a couple of days but right now we are doing everything we can to stabilize him so that we may wake him up and working towards recovery as soon as possible,” Dr. Ford says.

 

Magnus looks into the man’s eyes and is surprised to see that he actually looks upset at the news he is sharing with them.

 

“And…and what about the chemo? We were supposed to start in six weeks,” Maryse mutters as she dabs her eyes with a tissue.

 

Dr. Stanhope slides her hand over to Maryse’s in a comforting manner, “I’m still hoping to start it then, I’m hoping that Alec will be better in a few days and that our timeline won’t be interrupted.”

 

The doctors left after a few minutes more of answering questions. Magnus felt as if he was in a haze, he hated feeling so helpless. There was nothing he could do to make Alec any better or wake up faster except to wait.

 

Things were so critical at this point that Alec could only have one visitor at a time. Maryse, Robert, and Jace all went before him and Magnus tried to wait as patiently as he could for his turn.

 

The worst part of waiting was seeing everyone’s face once returning from their visit with Alec as if they were shocked at what they had seen.

 

“The nurse said you can head on in Magnus,” Jace sniffled softly as he turned the corner and rushed into the bathroom.

 

 

 

 

~~~~~~~~

 

 

 

 

 

Magnus stood at the entrance of the hospital room frozen in place, his legs seemed stuck as if they were in cement, reluctant to move any further into the room.

 

“You can come on in,” a nurse asked from across the room.

 

She was hanging what Magnus could tell was a bag full of blood up by the head of the bed. The tubing disappeared somewhere into his boyfriend lying motionless in the bed.

 

Magnus scooted forward one foot at a time until the top of his thighs hit the side of the bed. His eyes widened at the site in front of him.

 

He had never seen so many different lines, tubes, and wires before in his life. He had seen medical dramas on TV and the patients always look so neat and serene with a blanket surrounding them. This looked like a medical nightmare.

 

Alec was as pale as a ghost, the incision sites on his neck were bigger than he thought they’d be and were oozing red blood from them out onto the sheets.

 

Magnus must have looked just as pale then as the nurse pushed a chair from the corner of the room over to him, “Why don’t you take a seat, Magnus.”

 

He was grateful for the chair as his knees buckled even more. He sat down next to the bed, “How…how do you know my name?” he asked tearfully.

 

“Oh…um, Alec’s brother, I think his name was Jake. He was talking to him and telling him how you stayed and waited for him all day,” the nurse said with a blush on her face.

 

Magnus wiped the tears from his eyes as best he could, “I... I told him that I would see him this afternoon, it was my last words to him this morning… I can’t help but feel like I lied to him,” he admitted.

 

“Hey now… you didn’t lie to him, you supported him and stayed with him all day. Having such a supportive family does more than you know for patients and you are a part of that for Alec. Try and stay positive, it’s going to be a rough few days but he’s going to get better.”

 

The nurse moved back towards the counter and began mixing a type of clear medicine in a syringe. She walked back over and injected it into one of the IVs in Alec’s arm.

 

“Just a little pain medicine for him,” she explained softly. “You can hold his hand, honey. It won’t hurt him,” she added.

 

Magnus went to reach for Alec’s left hand and grasped it softly. His eyes fell on a soft cuff above it at his wrist, which he realized was on the other arm as well. “Why…why is he wearing restraints?”

 

“It’s a safety precaution. We can’t risk someone pulling out their breathing tube,” she explains apologetically. “I promise they come off as soon as he is awake and breathing on his own.”

 

Magnus nods in understanding even though he didn’t like the idea of it. He was suddenly very glad that Alec was still asleep for all of this.

 

He knows his boyfriend would hate to be so tied down and was hoping he would wake to not remember any of it. He felt slightly useful then, that maybe this was his burden to bare for Alec and that he could watch over him in this difficult time.

 

“Well, I’ll be right outside monitoring him. I’ll give you some time with him. Just call if you need anything, my name is Lilly,” she stated before walking from the room.

 

Magnus felt panicked when he was left alone in the room by himself. He was worried something was going to happen and he wouldn’t know what to do to stop it. He tried his best to focus his breathing.

 

Just when he thought he wasn’t going to be able to control it, Alec squeezed his hand ever so slightly in Magnus’s grip. Sure it was probably a reflex but Magnus was more than relieved to feel Alec’s touch just then.  

 

“Oh, my love. I’m so sorry. Here I am a blubbering mess and you're trying to get your rest. I promise when I come back tomorrow I will have my act together.”

 

Magnus felt incredibly more relaxed as he talked more with Alec. He wasn’t sure if he could hear him but he was happy to do something other than just sit in silence.

 

“I realized something very important today, Alexander. It’s that I think you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I don’t think I would be in such a good place right now if it wasn’t for you,” he confessed as he stroked his fingers along Alec’s forearm.

 

“You make me feel so special and loved each and every day we are together. You’re my angel.”

 

He leaned down to kiss the back of his hand. “I love you so much, when this is all over I’ll make sure to catch you up on everything you missed. Oh, I sketched a bunch today, I even have a sweater that I made just for you… oh and Izzy is going to love…”

 

Magnus stayed and talked with Alec for another hour before the nurse came by to let him know that visiting hours were over for the night. He didn’t want to leave but knew he was in good hands, he already loved Alec’s nurse and felt relieved to be leaving him in such good hands.

 

Catarina and Ragnor had been texting him all day and checking in. He was so thankful that he had a family that cared about him so much. They had sent along several pictures of the kitten that Alec had gotten him just a few days earlier. He still hadn’t come up with a name for him yet but he wanted to come up with one before Alec woke up so that he could tell him the good news right away.


End file.
